Early in the morning of October 9, districts in Hanoi such as Cau Giay, Nam Tu Liem, Long Bien... were covered in fog and air pollution reached warning levels.
In particular, areas with a lot of construction or heavy traffic have more serious pollution indexes.
According to information provided by the Environmental Monitoring Portal (Hanoi Department of Natural Resources and Environment) at 10:00 a.m. on October 9, the measuring points were as follows: Environmental Protection Branch 164; Van Ha 123; Kim Bai 136; Xuan Mai 117; Hang Dau 107. Thus, the air quality measured here all reached a bad level, affecting health.
In addition, the AirVisual application shows that the air quality index at the measuring point in Tay Ho district is above 150; Cau Giay district has a score of 186; Nam Tu Liem district 154; Bac Tu Liem district is as high as 187; Dong Da district 171; Hoan Kiem district has a lower index but still reaches a high threshold of 130; Long Bien district 155; suburban districts of Hanoi such as Thanh Oai and Chuong My also exceed the safe level of 155...
Dr. Hoang Duong Tung - Chairman of the Vietnam Clean Air Network, former Deputy Directorate of the Environmental Directorate - said: "Hanoi is currently entering the pollution season, from October to February and March. According to data recorded at monitoring stations, there are often many hours of the day with high AQI index. The cause of pollution is due to high construction density in the city, emissions from industrial zones and private vehicles; due to burning garbage, straw or pollution from livestock farms".
Hanoi's air quality is at an alarming level, directly affecting people's health, especially those with respiratory diseases, the elderly and children. The World Health Organization (WHO) has continuously warned of the health threat from environmental pollution. Air pollution often contains fine dust particles that are invisible to the naked eye, which are the cause of respiratory diseases.
In adults with normal health, symptoms such as eye, skin, nose and throat irritation; cough, phlegm, chest tightness, shortness of breath when breathing in polluted air. Children and the elderly when exposed for a long time lead to reduced lung function, respiratory infections.
"In the face of increasing air pollution, people should take measures to prevent and protect their own health: Limit outdoor exercise on days with polluted air, especially early in the morning; Create a habit of wearing masks that meet the standards of the Ministry of Health to avoid 2.5PM fine dust; Propagate and share information with relatives and friends about measures to protect against respiratory diseases; Should use public transport to reduce emissions from personal vehicles" - Dr. Hoang Duong Tung recommended.
