China plans to establish a nationwide network within five years to monitor air pollution and its effect on public health, Beijing Youth Daily reported on Tuesday.

This year, the network will cover 16 provinces and municipalities that are seriously affected by smog; monitor the kinds and amount of pollutants in the air; and collect data from hospitals on causes of death and the number and kinds of diseases taking place over time.

Smog has affected 600 million people in 17 provinces, a quarter of the country's territory, in 2013, which led the central government to set aside money to build a monitoring network, according to Xu Dongqun, deputy head of the Institute of Environmental Health and Related Product Safety. The institute is under the authority of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention.