Speaking at the conference, Ms. Le Thanh Thuy - Deputy Head of the Environmental Management Department, Department of Agriculture and Environment emphasized that the issue of air pollution is increasingly attracting special attention from public opinion, policymakers, management agencies and directly grassroots authorities.
In recent years, many pieces of information have reflected that Hanoi is often in the group of cities heavily affected by global air pollution.
The specific climate and geographical location of the Capital in the period from October of the previous year to March and April of the following year are often not very favorable, increasing the risk of accumulation of pollutants.
To thoroughly solve this problem, management agencies need to rely on objective, scientific and systematic assessments instead of just stopping at visual perception.
Ms. Le Thanh Thuy said that to regain the "blue sky" for the Capital, communication and community awareness play an important role, but above all, drastic and synchronous actions are required from the political system based on accurate scientific data.
The conference expects to be an important stepping stone for localities to improve their capacity to monitor, inventory and effectively control emissions sources in the coming time.
Presenting the monograph "Identifying air pollution in Hanoi: Characteristics of pollution sources, developments and health impacts", Prof. Dr. Hoang Xuan Co, Vietnam Association for Environmental Economics, clarified the concept of air quality; developments of air quality in Hanoi; impacts of pollution on health and the role of emission inventory in management.
Sources of air pollution include natural sources, sources arising from human activities and emitted/leaking emissions.
Regarding the classification of waste sources in management, they can be classified into sources, including: point sources such as industrial production facilities (thermal power, cement production, steel, chemicals...); mobile sources from transportation activities; electricity sources from agricultural production, domestic use and open-burning activities.
One content that experts noted is the role of communes and wards in reviewing and grasping emission sources in the area.
Data from the grassroots level is an important input for the city to carry out inventory, build emission maps, identify areas at risk of pollution and choose appropriate management measures.
In the topic on pollutant concentrations, air quality index and forecast information, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ly Bich Thuy guided delegates to distinguish pollutant concentrations from AQI index; how to read AQI by hour, by day and exploit forecast information.
The AQI index is an index calculated from the parameters of air pollution monitoring, to indicate the state of air quality and the level of impact on human health on a scale. AQI hour and AQI day have different representative times; the index at each station reflects air quality in the corresponding area, which cannot automatically extend to the whole city.
When exploiting data, management officials and journalists need to clearly check the source of information, location of the measuring station, time of announcement, type of indicator by hour or by day; and distinguish monitoring data from forecast information. Air quality forecasting plays an early warning role but still has a level of error similar to weather forecasting.
The conference also spent time exchanging and answering common situations in the process of receiving, explaining and transmitting information about air pollution.
Through this, grassroots officials, specialized agencies and the press have more skills to exploit data, verify information sources, and transmit appropriate warnings, avoiding causing panic or making simple conclusions about the causes of pollution.
