Air pollution has covered Hanoi in a thick layer of smog. (Photo: VNA) By 6am on November 7, PAM Air monitoring stations in Hanoi reported the AirQuality Index (AQI) as red (AQI 151-200, 'Unhealthy'), with some areas reachingpurple (AQI 201-300, 'Very Unhealthy').
By noon, the air quality had improved slightly. However, much of the cityremained in the red and orange levels (AQI 101-150, 'Unhealthy for SensitiveGroups').
Ha Thanh Huong, Project Manager of PAM Air, told TienPhong (Vanguard) online newspaper that the air quality in Hanoi isdeteriorating.
She said the air is often polluted late at night, which lasts until morning oreven noon the next day.
"The recent wave of air pollution started on November 3 and is predictedto last until the end of this week," she said.
Huong said air quality usually drops between October and March for between twoand 14 days at a time.
"Therefore, during this time, people should monitor air quality regularlyand actively protect their health by wearing fine particulate matter (PM2.5)dust masks, as well as limiting outdoor activities in the early morning andlate at night," she said.
According to environmental experts, air pollution in Hanoi is related tometeorology. In the past few days, Hanoi’s weather has experienced atemperature inversion, causing pollutants from traffic, construction,industrial production, craft villages, and daily life activities to bedeposited in the air near the ground, leading to air pollution.
The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment's National EnvironmentalReport for 2016-2020 also pointed out that air pollution in Vietnam issignificantly affected by climate factors.
Dust concentrations in the air also change according to the rules of the day, especiallyin the areas near traffic axes. For example, the dust concentration increasesduring peak traffic hours and drops to the lowest between noon and night, thereport said.
Under the report, air pollution in Vietnam mainly occurs in big cities, urbanareas and industrial parks.
Between 2016-2020, dust pollution was most common in big cities, urban areasand areas with a lot of industrial activities, especially PM10 and PM2.5 dustpollution in Hanoi and HCM City.
The report said that Hanoi’s days with poor air quality accounted for 30.5% ofthe total number of observed days in 2019.
The Ministry of Health has advised people to monitor air quality regularly andlimit opening windows and doors while the air is polluted. In addition, peopleshould regularly clean up rooms and houses and plant trees around the house tohelp in preventing dust and clean the air.
People should clean their noses, gargle physiological saline in the morning andevening, especially after going out, and wash their eyes with physiologicalsaline at night before bed.
The World Health Organisation said PM2.5 dust could penetrate the lungs andenter the body through the bloodstream, affecting all major organs.
Exposure to PM2.5 can cause both cardiovascular and respiratory diseases suchas strokes, lung cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
A recent research has also shown an association between prenatal exposure tohigh levels of air pollution and developmental delay in infants, as well aspsychological and behavioural problems later on, including attention deficithyperactivity disorder (ADHD), anxiety and depression./.
VNA
