serious air pollution
For many consecutive days, Hanoi has topped the list of the most polluted cities in the world. Behind that foggy sky is not only a landslide but the health of millions of people is threatened every day.
According to Dr. Hoang Duong Tung - Chairman of the Vietnam Clean Air Network, in recent years, air pollution in Hanoi has become very serious, especially in the winter months. Hanoi's proposal of a roadmap to ban gasoline motorbikes by hour and by area, and at the same time implementing a low-emission zone from 2026, is a suitable step to gradually move towards green transportation.
According to Dr. Hoang Duong Tung - Chairman of the Vietnam Clean Air Network, the North often records a sharp increase in pollution from October to April. During this period, the weather is mainly calm, high humidity, little sunshine and fog. These factors make it difficult for the dust layer to diffuse to high ground, being compressed near the ground and accumulating for many days.
The end of the year is also the time when fine dust pollution increases due to changing seasons, but the main source of emissions still comes from human activities such as high density of private vehicles, many construction works, industrial plants around Hanoi and the habit of burning straw in the suburbs.
The winter weather has few winds and no rain, making it impossible for dust to diffuse or wash away, making the pollution level more obvious.
piloting low-emission zones
Regarding this issue, Mr. Le Hoai Nam - Deputy Director of the Department of Environment, Ministry of Agriculture and Environment - said: "In recent days, Hanoi and some provinces in the Red River Delta have been polluted with fine dust, which is very complicated and at a high level. In 2024, air pollution in Hanoi and some northern provinces is relatively bad. In the last period of 2024 alone, Hanoi has experienced 4 prolonged air pollutions, monitoring results show that the fine dust pollution data in 2024 will exceed about 2 times and the number of days with bad air quality is quite high".
Regarding the cause of air pollution, Mr. Le Hoai Nam said that the first cause is emissions from industrial sectors, the second is emissions from the transport sector, the third is emissions from the agricultural sector, the problem of burning household waste in localities and construction activities... Regarding the issue of emissions from the transport sector, Hanoi City has recently decided to ban gasoline motorbikes in Ring Road 1 according to the time frame/time and area from July 1, 2026.
From July 1, 2026, the pilot low-emission zone will be applied in some areas in Ring Road 1 (including 9 wards: Hai Ba Trung, Cua Nam, Hoan Kiem, O Cho Dua, Van Mieu - Quoc Tu Giam, Ba Dinh, Giang Vo, Ngoc Ha, Tay Ho).
From January 1, 2028, the city will implement a low-emission zone in Ring Road 1 and some areas in Ring Road 2 and above. From January 1, 2030, the city will implement a low emission zone in Ring Road 3 and above.
This plan is expected to help significantly improve emissions from traffic activities and contribute to reducing air pollution in the capital.
On December 1, the Hanoi People's Committee issued an official dispatch advising people, especially the elderly, children and people with respiratory diseases, to limit outdoor activities and wear masks when going out on days when air quality is low.
The city is strengthening many response solutions such as preparing guidance documents to help people recognize the time of pollution, improving the capacity to receive respiratory patients at inner-city hospitals and monitoring the air with a continuously updated monitoring system via the VN-AQI platform.
The specialized forces coordinated with central units to deploy satellites, drones, traffic cameras and data from the iHanoi application to detect the situation of garbage burning and straw burning early.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Environment has previously warned the North, especially Hanoi, to go through a series of days of counter-term heat, thick fog and calm wind - factors that cause pollutants to accumulate over a long period of time.
Trees can absorb air pollutants
According to Prof. Dr. Dang Huy Huynh - Vietnam Association for Conservation of Nature and Environment, trees have the ability to absorb toxic substances from the air such as Anhydrides, Sunfua, Fuo, Amoniac due to photosynthesis. Trees produce amons, which can absorb suspended particulate matter and purify air sources. The plant can also metabolize many toxic substances in soil and water sources. In addition, trees like shields are able to block dust in urban areas, towns and industrial parks.
According to the Vietnam Association of the Environment, a tree with a wide - large canopy can withstand 10 - 30kg of dust, thanks to which the dust concentration blown through a tree can be reduced by 20 - 60%. The deep plant root system helps the soil become lighter and more porous, so that when there is heavy rain, the water will penetrate quickly, contributing to reducing urban flooding.
According to the expert's analysis, a 30m wide and 15m high green tree can reduce traffic noise on the road by about 10dB, or a 500m wide green tree belt surrounding the factory contributes to reducing SO2 emissions (70%) and Nitra Oxide by 67% and the tree is able to absorb pollutants such as: NO2, CO2, NH3; 1ha of urban trees can purify from 50 - 70 tons of dust/year.
