Pollution

People travel under smog in Hanoi, September 26, 2019. Photo by VnExpress/Gia Chinh. When Vietnam’s capital city was, albeit momentarily, declared the most polluted one in the world Friday morning, officials scrambled to explain that it was a seasonal transition and a periodical episode. The low quality of Hanoi’s air in the past days has happened because the city is in the transition from summer to fall and then winter. Therefore this is just a "periodical phenomenon" that happens every year, said officials of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment. On Friday morning, Hanoi took the top spot for the city with worst air quality in the world in a ranking of more than 10,000 cities worldwide, when its air quality index (AQI) stood at 175. The previous evening, the index was over 200. An AQI level above 100 is considered polluted or unhealthy for humans.  The city's level of PM2.5 or super fine particles, a fraction of the width of a … [Read more...] about Stop making excuses, act on air pollution: Hanoians

PAMAir shows many places in Hanoi reaching purple-warning level for air pollution. (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - Air pollution in the capital city of Hanoi has risen to serious levels over the past two days. AirVisual, an international air quality monitoring facility that generates data from public, ground-based and real-time monitoring stations, recorded on September 30 that Hanoi continued to be the most polluted city in the world with the Air Quality Index (AQI) exceeding the red-warning level. It reached the purple level with AQI of 272 at 6.30am. Hoang Duong Tung, Chairman of the Vietnam Clean Air Partnership, said it was abnormal and needed careful research to find out why, he said. Tung warned that people should limit morning exercises that would lead to them inhaling more dust. He added that monitoring in the country remained limited. Hanoi has two fixed stations whereas Ho Chi Minh City has none. Air pollution in Vietnam is caused by fine dust, … [Read more...] about Air pollution in Hanoi exceeds red-warning level

Chief of the Office of the Hanoi People’s Committee Vu Dang Dinh (standing) speaks at the press meeting on October 1 (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – Hanoi is promptly taking actions to improve air quality which has been assessed as very low for the past two weeks, according to municipal authorities. At a press meeting on October 1, Chief of the Office of the Hanoi People’s Committee Vu Dang Dinh said statistics of the municipal Department of Naturel Resources and Environment show that since September 13, the local air quality at many points in time of day has been “very low”. The air is mainly polluted with fine particles PM2.5 (particles less than 2.5 micrometers in diameter). The main pollution sources include exhaust fumes from transport vehicles, coal and wood burning, dust from construction sites and vehicles carrying building materials, waste burning, smoke from production facilities in Hanoi and nearby provinces, and impact of the change of … [Read more...] about Hanoi moving to address air pollution: authorities

A bird’s eye view shows smog covering Hanoi on September 30 morning. Photo: Nam Tran The air pollution index in the capital city of Hanoi has soared to hazardous levels over the past two days, and downpour is expected to end air pollution wave in the city, local media reported. AirVisual, an international air quality monitoring application from IQAir which generates data from public, on-site and real-time monitoring stations, recorded on September 30 that Hanoi remained the most polluted city in the world with the Air Quality Index (AQI) exceeding the red-warning level.  At 8:00 am on September 30, a bird’s eye view shows Hanoi blanketed by smog. AirVisual recorded Hanoi’s AQI at 385 at 4:00 am, the highest level the city has witnessed this month.  Many places in Hanoi in recent days even reach purple-warning level for air pollution. Thus, children, the elderly and individuals with respiratory and heart diseases are recommended to avoid sustained … [Read more...] about Downpour expected to end air pollution in Hanoi

Hanoi residents warned about air pollution. Photo: Pham Hung As concern is prevailing among Hanoi residents about the ongoing air pollution, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE) has warned people to refrain from outdoor activities at this time, according to local media. The MONRE reported from September 12 to September 29, PM2.5 dust particles in Hanoi’s air exceed the permitted level and reach the highest over the last five years. PM2.5 particle concentration increases and maintains at high level especially at night and early morning (AQI> 100), sometimes even reaches bad level (AQI> 200). In the mornings from September 25 to October 1, it was reported that at some AQI monitoring stations, the PM2.5 concentration exceeded 200,  a bad level. Data from automatic air monitoring points in recent days show that air quality in many northern localities of Vietnam, especially in Hanoi, is at an alarming level. However, the MONRE said that bad AQI … [Read more...] about Hanoi residents warned about air pollution: Ministry