Hanoi in the top 10 most polluted cities in the world
More than 10 years ago, when reading newspapers and watching photos taken in Beijing (China), Mr. Huy Hung (an office worker in Tu Liem ward, Hanoi) was "shocked" by the dense fog covering the city. Administrative centers are "submerged" in pollution, remote visibility is limited, people move in a thick, uncomfortable air mass.
"It's hard to live like this," he recalled, and secretly felt lucky to be living in Vietnam, in Hanoi, where he believes the air is still quite fresh.
Until the headlines appeared densely: "Today, Hanoi is the most polluted city in the world", "Hanoi is among the most polluted cities in the world", "Hanoi is foggy from morning to night due to pollution"... The articles and the reality every day made Mr. Hung ask himself: "When has Hanoi become polluted? ".
"But no matter how difficult it is, I and millions of Hanoians, for a living, for a piece of broken bread, still have to cling to it, having to accept the fact that every morning when I take a bus to work, in front of me is a hazy fog. It is not a layer of fresh fog, but a layer of polluted fog, thick to the point of suffocation," said Mr. Hung.
Hanoi is in its third air pollution period since the beginning of the season, starting on November 28 and is forecast to last until December 5, according to the AI-applied air quality forecasting model (HanoiAir) of the Smart Space Research Group (GEOI), Hanoi National University of Technology.
Accordingly, the average AQI index of the whole city yesterday was 143 - a poor level, corresponding to PM2.5 concentration of 77 μg/m3 - 5 times higher than the recommendation of the World Health Organization (WHO) - 15 μg/m3.
Three measuring stations in Hanoi in the monitoring system of the Department of Environment (Ministry of Agriculture and Environment) also recorded AQI continuously increasing to bad to very bad levels. This index directly reflects PM2.5 concentration - the main pollutant.
According to Hanoi's recommendation, people who experience symptoms of eye pain, cough or sore throat... should consider reducing outdoor activities. For students, they can do activities outside, but should reduce prolonged exercise.
sensitive groups, according to the warning of the Hanoi Environmental Monitoring Portal, should reduce strong activities and reduce outdoor activities. People with asthma may need to take medicine more often.
It is undeniable that Hanoi is under great pressure for air pollution.
Although regular monitoring data shows that Hanoi is among the most polluted cities in the world, in an interview with Lao Dong, Ms. Le Thanh Thuy - Deputy Head of the Environmental Management Department (Hanoi Department of Agriculture and Environment) said that up to now, there has been no global study to assess which city is the most polluted.
According to Ms. Thuy, some independent organizations such as AirVisual or international air quality monitoring units often issue rankings based on data collected at some measuring stations located in certain locations, possibly even right at polluted "hot spots" such as construction sites, or areas with high traffic.
These devices are often not fully inspected. Relying on the AQI index of such measuring points, and then concluding that Hanoi is the most polluted city in the world is not a true reflection of reality.
"To have an accurate assessment, we need a global study, or an automated monitoring system with a global network. At that time, the comparison will really have a basis," said Ms. Thuy.
She also noted that, if viewed intuitively, it can be seen that many other countries such as India or Mongolia, often submerged in winter, have a very high burning of coal for heating, and have a high density of vehicles - sources of emissions that cause serious air pollution.
Regarding the question of whether Hanoi is the most polluted city in the world or not? Ms. Thuy said that more independent research and a broader data system are needed to reach a conclusion.
"Up to this point, we do not deny that Hanoi is under great pressure for air pollution. As the capital, where many transportation, industrial, production and economic development activities are concentrated, increased pollution is an inevitable trend. The city is still trying to coordinate with neighboring localities to minimize sources of pollution.
But to affirm that Hanoi is the most polluted city in the world, I think we need many other scientific studies to conclude," Ms. Thuy emphasized.
Dr. Hoang Duong Tung - Chairman of the Clean Air Network said that building a pollution map is an urgent requirement to clearly identify which craft villages cause pollution and the specific emission level of each area.
According to him, in the context of digital transformation, building this map is not too difficult and does not require large costs. When there is a pollution map, the new management agency will have enough basis to propose solutions to control emissions, in parallel with the administrative measures being applied.
"The cause of air pollution in Hanoi does not only come from inner-city activities, but is also affected by external emission sources, especially in neighboring localities such as Bac Ninh, Ninh Binh, Hung Yen.
Therefore, pollution control must be implemented in an inter-regional direction, requiring close coordination between Hanoi and these provinces to fully assess the sources of pollution, thereby developing more synchronous and effective solutions," said Dr. Tung.
