The IQAir air quality index application at 9am this morning ranked Hanoi as the third most polluted city in the world with an AQI of 232, after Dhaka (Bangladesh) and Delhi (India).
Pollution index measuring points still rank West Lake as the most polluted area in Hanoi. Typically, Quang Khanh (Tay Ho) AQI reached 425, Quang Ba AQI 340, To Ngoc Van AQI 344, Ho Tay Compound AQI 350 - these measuring points are all at the brown threshold - a threshold that is harmful to human health.
Many measuring points in other areas recorded pollution at the purple threshold such as Hoang Quoc Viet AQI 239, Tu Hoa AQI 277, Dang Thai Mai AQI 229...
Hanoi City currently has about 1.1 million cars; 6.9 million motorbikes, 10 industrial parks; 70 industrial clusters; 1,370 craft villages in operation. These are activities that need attention and control in environmental management in general and air quality management in Hanoi City in particular.
According to the National Environmental Status Report 2016-2020, the average annual PM2.5 dust concentration in Hanoi during the period 2018-2020 exceeded the national technical regulation QCVN 05:2013/BTNMT (25 μg/m3) by nearly 2 times. The average annual PM10 dust concentration exceeded the QCVN limit by 1.3 to 1.6 times.
Statistics from the Hanoi Department of Natural Resources and Environment show that with the increase in PM2.5 dust concentration, there are an average of 1,062 additional hospitalizations due to cardiovascular disease and 2,969 hospitalizations due to respiratory disease each year. People's quality of life is affected.
The Department of Environmental Pollution Control (Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment) recommends that people regularly monitor air quality to proactively limit the impact caused by air pollution.
The AQI is an air quality index that ranges from 0-500, with higher numbers indicating higher levels of pollution and health impacts. Readings above 300 are considered unhealthy, while 0-50 indicate good air quality.
