Solid waste discharges to Phan Rí Cửa beach, Tuy Phong District, Bình Thuận Province. — Photo zing.vn Thu Vân Years of rapid economic development have left Việt Nam with negative externalities – noise and poor air quality arising from pollution and road congestion. Pollution was once accepted as the inevitable by-product of industrial development and promoted as economic progress. After World War II, eager for any sort of industrial development, governor of the US’ state of Alabama, George Wallace, described the odour from a local paper mill as “the smell of prosperity”. Public attitudes have changed significantly since then. Clean air to breathe is now recognised by the United Nations and others as a universal human right, essential to physical well-being. In 2016, the World Health Organisation (WHO) labeled air pollution a global public health emergency. It seems like we have too many emergencies … [Read more...] about Filthy, toxic air is not a symbol of prosperity
Pollutant major cause of respiratory disease
Smog-smothered Saigon joins ranks of heavily polluted cities
Many parts of Ho Chi Minh City were under such a thick layer of fog Friday morning that many drivers complained of poor visibility. In recent years, HCMC has joined the ranks of cities like Bangkok, Manila, Jakarta and Hanoi that are suffering really bad air pollution, posing risks of respiratory diseases among their populations. The fog’s density could been seen in the way it obscured the peak of Landmark 81 in Saigon's Binh Thanh District, Vietnam's tallest building. From the Thu Thiem Urban Area in District 2, the fog cast a screen over the city center and its skycrapers. The photo was taken at 9 a.m. "Everything looked mysterious and it looked as though we were in Da Lat," said resident Le Van Tam, referring to the Central Highlands town where it is almost always cool and fog. Temperatures in the usually hot city dropped to 21 degrees Celsius (70 degrees Fahrenheit) on Friday morning. The Phu My Bridge in District 7 and the high-rise buildings beyond it were shrouded. At far … [Read more...] about Smog-smothered Saigon joins ranks of heavily polluted cities
Superbugs and anti-vaxxers make WHO’s list of 10 global health threats
From climate change to superbugs, the World Health Organization has laid out 10 big threats to our global health in 2019. And unless these threats get addressed, millions of lives will be in jeopardy. Here's a snapshot of 10 urgent health issues, according to the United Nations' public health agency: Not vaccinating when you can One of the most controversial recent health topics in the US is now an international concern. "Vaccine hesitancy -- the reluctance or refusal to vaccinate despite the availability of vaccines -- threatens to reverse progress made in tackling vaccine-preventable diseases," WHO said. "Vaccination is one of the most cost-effective ways of avoiding disease -- it currently prevents 2-3 million deaths a year, and a further 1.5 million could be avoided if global coverage of vaccinations improved." The health agency cited the recent 30% global increase in cases of measles -- a disease that had been nearly wiped out in some countries. "The reasons for this rise are … [Read more...] about Superbugs and anti-vaxxers make WHO’s list of 10 global health threats
Polluted Delhi air akin to death sentence, say doctors
Yogesh Kumar wheezes after life-saving surgery to remove a diseased lung, but his doctors wonder how long he can last outside hospital breathing some of the world's dirtiest air. Smog kills more than one million Indians every year and Delhi has the worst air of any major city on the planet, the World Health Organization says. (AFP) Smog is blamed for the deaths of more than one million Indians every year and Delhi -- which on Monday had emergency pollution levels more than 35 times the World Health Organization safe limit -- has the worst air of any global capital. Every November, hospital wards fill with gasping patients as the tell-tale thick grey haze which hit on Monday shrouds the city of 20 million. "Delhi air is like a death sentence for him," said Srinivas K. Gopinath, a thoracic surgeon at Sir Ganga Ram hospital in the Indian capital where 29-year-old Kumar was treated. Gopinath fears for his patient, who survived tuberculosis but is now at the mercy of … [Read more...] about Polluted Delhi air akin to death sentence, say doctors
Nine out of 10 people breathing polluted air: WHO
Viet Nam News GENEVA — More than 90 per cent of the global population is breathing in high levels of pollutants, the World Health Organisation said on Wednesday, blaming poor air quality for some seven million deaths annually. Fresh data from the UN health body showed that every corner of the globe is dealing with air pollution, although the problem is far worse in poorer countries. "Air pollution threatens us all, but the poorest and most marginalised people bear the brunt of the burden," WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a statement. WHO’s study, which examined health-hazardous levels of both outdoor and household air pollution, found that "around seven million people die every year from exposure to fine particles in polluted air". More than 90 per cent of deaths linked to air pollution occur in low- or middle-income countries, mainly in Asia and Africa, it found. "This is a very dramatic problem that we are facing," Maria Neira, the head of the … [Read more...] about Nine out of 10 people breathing polluted air: WHO