People looking to escape Hanoi's air pollution

The old house in Nam Tu Liem district of Duc's family is "convenient in every way" from full amenities to being close to school and work. But the whole family is constantly sick. His 3-year-old and 5-year-old children have persistent coughs. The 49-year-old man experiences 4-5 bouts of sore throat and difficulty breathing every year.

"There were days when I woke up at 2-3 am and found it extremely difficult to breathe. In the morning, I rode my motorbike all the way to Hoa Lac to find some fresh air to breathe," he said.

Last year, his family decided to move to the suburban district of Gia Lam, choosing an apartment complex with lots of trees to live in. Although school and work are further away, "at least the air is easier to breathe, less dusty."

At the end of October, Nguyen Ngoc Be, 47 years old, from Nam Dinh, happily took a bus to Hanoi to take a security job, with a salary nearly double that of his hometown. But after three days of work, he fell ill with chest pain, difficulty breathing, and a high fever, and had to return to his hometown. After getting better, he returned to work, but every time he went to Hanoi, he felt short of breath and suffocated. ''I went to the doctor and he said it was due to the dry weather and the serious pollution in Hanoi that affected his health, but there was no serious illness,'' he said.

In less than a month in Hanoi, in mid-November, Mr. Be paid for his room and submitted his resignation. The man calculated that this long-distance business trip would cost him at least two million VND for transportation, medical examination and medicine, not to mention that his wife had to stay home from work for two days to take care of him.

Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City are among the cities with the worst air quality in Asia. Hanoi is considered the 10th most polluted city in the world, with PM2.5 dust index consistently at a poor level. It is estimated that more than 40% of the city's population is exposed to PM2.5 dust concentrations twice as high as the national standard.

Mr. Nguyen Minh Tan, Deputy Director of the Hanoi Department of Natural Resources and Environment, said that with the increase in PM 2.5 dust concentration, on average each year there are nearly 1,100 hospitalizations due to cardiovascular disease and nearly 3,000 cases due to respiratory disease.

Global Burden of Disease Report Analysis The number of deaths from PM2.5 exposure in Vietnam alone increased from more than 26,000 in 1990 to 42,000 in 2015.

Mr. Tan said that in the period 2011-2015, air pollution reduced the income of inner-city residents by about 20%.

A 2020 study by the National Economics University in Hanoi showed that air pollution costs Vietnam between $10.82 and $13.63 billion each year.

The first is the visible tangible damage such as the cost of health check-ups and air purifiers. The second is the indirect damage such as the number of deaths, the impact of illness on labor productivity or the country's image in the eyes of international friends.

"The loss of income is not only for those who are sick due to air pollution but also the cost of care for them," said Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Cong Thanh, head of the Department of Economics, Natural Resources and Environmental Management, National Economics University, Hanoi.

Research led by Mr. Thanh published in the international journal Economic Analysis and Policy in 2021 showed that the life value of a premature death due to air pollution is estimated at between VND164 million and VND1.5 billion.

Mr. Minh Duc said that no matter how much it costs to completely cure his sore throat, he is willing to accept it, but he has tried everything and taken all kinds of medicine but still cannot get better. He works in business and often has to meet with customers, but the persistent coughs have forced him to constantly postpone and cut down on work. "I take the bus, even though I wear a mask, my constant coughing makes people avoid me, the driver tells me to stand away from the air conditioner," he said.

Although the job pays double, security guard Nguyen Ngoc Be admits that his immune system is weak and he cannot cope with the polluted air in Hanoi. "I have to take medicine and get sick, I don't know when I will die, so I'll go back to my hometown and live a poor but healthy life," he said.

Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Cong Thanh said that to improve environmental pollution there are two main groups of solutions: public and individual solutions.

Public solutions include planting trees, developing green transport systems, improving the quality of raw materials used, and planning low-emission zones.

Each family should proactively protect their health by wearing masks, closing doors if near traffic routes, purchasing air purifiers, disinfecting air conditioners, and even, if possible, moving their house away from traffic routes or polluted constructions.

Dr. Hoang Duong Tung, Chairman of the Vietnam Clean Air Network, said that air pollution is most severe between 1am and 7am and during rush hours. Therefore, you should close your windows when sleeping and, if possible, limit going out during rush hours.

"Currently, mobile phones have applications that warn of air pollution. People should install them to avoid going out during risky hours, when not necessary," said Mr. Tung.

Experts say that switching to public transport, walking or cycling, and reducing garbage burning are immediate, cost-free solutions that can help save us from environmental pollution.

Realizing that Hanoi's air pollution could not be solved overnight, Minh Duc returned to Quang Binh seven years ago to build a farm. During his one-year stay in the forest, breathing fresh air and drinking wild honey, he did not suffer from sore throat.

"The total cost of buying ginger honey is only equal to one visit to the doctor in Hanoi," he said.

Currently, he spends about 3 months each year in Quang Binh, both to take care of work and to live in nature.

"Because the economy is not stable, I cannot return home completely, but I have decided that when I have the chance, I will leave Hanoi immediately," he said.