mechanical
The average annual PM 2.5 particulate matter levels in Hanoi and provinces such as Bac Ninh and Thai Nguyen have exceeded the standards from 2019 to the present.
On the afternoon of November 14, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and the Hanoi People's Committee held a conference to promote measures to reduce air pollution in major cities of Vietnam.
Mr. Le Hoai Nam, Deputy Director of the Environmental Pollution Control Department, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, stated that monitoring results from 2019 to the present show that the air quality in most major cities is polluted, especially in cities like Hanoi, Hai Phong, Bac Ninh, and Hai Duong.
Among the air pollution issues, dust is the most prominent. Monitoring results from 2022 to 2023 show that the average annual PM 2.5 levels in Hanoi, Bac Ninh, and Thai Nguyen all exceeded the standards. Specifically, in Hanoi, PM 2.5 levels range from 26 to 52 μg/Nm3, exceeding the limits by 1.1 to 2.1 times.
In 2024, Hanoi recorded four heavy air pollution events, three in January to April, and one in early October.
The pollution period is concentrated from October to March the following year. The objective cause is the winter season in the North, with unfavorable meteorological conditions such as low rainfall, calm winds, and inversion, preventing fine dust from dispersing, causing air quality pollution. The subjective cause is from traffic sources, followed by industry, construction, and mining.
Agreeing with the above results, Mr. Nguyen Minh Tan, Deputy Director of the Hanoi Department of Natural Resources and Environment, stated that monitoring results and studies show that the pollution hotspots in Hanoi are PM 2.5 and PM 10 dust. There has been a link between air pollution and public health. Specifically, with the increase in PM 2.5 levels, nearly 1,100 hospital admissions per year are due to cardiovascular diseases, and nearly 3,000 due to respiratory diseases.
"If the PM 10 and PM 2.5 levels increase by 10 μg/m3, the number of hospital admissions related to respiratory diseases among children in Hanoi increases by 1.4% and 2.2%, respectively," Mr. Tan said, adding that between 2011 and 2015, air pollution caused a reduction of about 20% in the income of urban residents.
To improve air quality, representatives of the Hanoi Department of Natural Resources and Environment stated that they will focus on the primary source of emissions, which is traffic. The city is building low-emission zones (areas with limited vehicle access), increasing the budget for road cleaning, improving traffic flow to reduce congestion, and investing in public transportation conversion.
Believing that air pollution in Hanoi could also come from neighboring provinces and vice versa, Mr. Nguyen Minh Tan suggested that the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment develop a mechanism for cooperation between the Ministry and provinces and cities to exchange environmental data and create a coordinated action program to address inter-regional and inter-provincial pollution issues.
Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, Do Duc Duy, assessed that the pollution situation in large cities has increased to alarming levels over the past 10 years. This situation requires immediate action to enhance air pollution control measures, minimize adverse health impacts on the public, and promote socio-economic development.
"Air pollution does not follow administrative boundaries and is not the responsibility of just one ministry, sector, or locality. Protecting air quality is the responsibility of society as a whole," Minister Duy added.
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