Northern air quality at red alert level

The air quality monitoring portal of the Department of Environmental Pollution Control, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, updates air quality hourly, showing that many places in the North, including Hai Duong, have had poor air quality in recent days. are all at bad threshold (red warning).

Specifically, at 6:00 a.m. on November 10, the monitoring station at the People's Committee of Hai Duong City (Tran Hung Dao Street) had very poor air quality, with the air quality index (AQI) at 191 (red warning), affecting health.

The IQAir application (a platform that aggregates data collected by governments, companies and individuals around the world, and is a partner of the United Nations Environment Program) ranked Hanoi as the third and fourth most polluted city in the world on November 9 and 10. In Hai Duong, according to this application, the AQI index at 6:00 a.m. on November 10 was 221, at the "very unhealthy" level. On many days this November, the AQI index was above 150 (red alert or higher).

According to the Department of Environmental Pollution Control, the air pollution pattern starts from October of the previous year to March of the following year. The air quality assessment index shows that during the transitional period of 2024, the air pollution level from October 1 to now has fluctuated at times at the "poor" or "bad" level. The average AQI for 24 hours from 101 to 150 is "poor", from 151 to 200 is "bad" on the index's 6-level scale.

People can easily see with the naked eye that the air in the early morning and late afternoon is covered with a thick layer of fog. However, many people do not care or do not know that this is a manifestation of air pollution and fine dust that Hai Duong is one of the provinces facing.

In addition to the unfavorable weather conditions during the transitional season, rapid economic development and strong urbanization have severely affected the living environment. Like many other provinces and cities, Hai Duong has many large industrial zones and an increasingly expanding transportation system, leading to a large amount of emissions from production activities and vehicles. In addition, the burning of straw and garbage still occurs in some localities, which is also a cause of air pollution.

According to the United Nations Children's Fund in Vietnam (Unicef), air pollution causes about 7 million deaths globally each year and at least 70,000 in Vietnam, shortening the average life expectancy of people by 1.4 years.

To minimize air pollution, there needs to be synchronous solutions, especially close coordination between the government, businesses and the community. The emergence of "strange odors" needs to be prevented from the root, requiring authorities at all levels and functional sectors to regularly inspect, monitor and strictly punish businesses and production facilities that discharge emissions that do not meet standards into the environment. Increasing the use of green means of transport such as vehicles running on clean fuel, electric cars, and electric motorbikes is also a long-term solution. Continue to plant trees in urban areas, in areas along roads where there is a high density of vehicles and high pollution levels. People in rural areas need to strongly apply appropriate straw treatment technologies, and stop burning straw during the harvest season. Waste treatment using smart technology instead of burning it in the environment as it is now must be thoroughly implemented...

Currently, many people, especially the elderly, are still subjective, often exercising outdoors in the early morning and late afternoon. Doctors have warned that during times of air pollution, sensitive groups should not go out on the streets, even outdoor activities such as exercise are not good for health. For normal people in general, when forced to travel on the road, they should protect themselves with masks and glasses. Although regular masks cannot prevent PM2.5 fine dust, they will somewhat limit dust and smoke when traveling.

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment recommends that people monitor information on changes in air quality on official websites of central and local environmental management agencies. Do not follow or disseminate information on websites that have not been confirmed by state management agencies. Websitehttps://cem.gov.vn/of the Department of Environmental Pollution Control and the IQAir application mentioned above are reputable platforms that have updated air quality information hourly throughout the day for many years now, allowing people to proactively look up and protect their own health.