Hanoi's air pollution has turned itself around, with Hanoi recording a high number of "good" days in the first week of July.
According to VietNamNet, Hanoi has seen positive changes in its air pollution problem recently, with monitoring stations recording "average" and "good" levels. The city's "good days" are reported to have increased, as compared to last week's data. With its Air Quality Index (AQI) ranging between 40 and 94 points, which correspond to "average" and "good" levels, Hanoi began a streak of no "bad" level days, Mai Trong Thai, head of the Environment Protection Authority under the Department of Natural Resources and Environment, told the news source.
Urban air monitoring stations located in Trung Yen (Cau Giay District), Kim Lien (Dong Da District), My Dinh (Nam Tu Liem District) and Tan Mai (Hoang Mai District) showed air quality improvements of 100%, 71.4%, 71.4%, 57.1% and 42.9%, respectively.
Traffic site air monitoring stations on Hang Dau Street and near Hoan Kiem and Thanh Cong also maintained their average AQI levels, with Hoan Kiem's AQI experiencing a surprising surge on July 5, which accounted for its "good" level.
The upcoming days are expected to see even better air quality, as rain is predicted for Hanoi which will be a refreshing change from the city's scorching heat last week.
This is a noticeable shift from Hanoi’s rather bleak recent air quality past.
In 2017, the capital city was found to only have 38 days of clean air, close to the same level as Beijing, with the Green Innovation and Development Centre (GreenID) reporting that Hanoi’s annual average air pollution is four times higher than the acceptable limit based on the World Health Organization (WHO)'s air quality guidelines. Even this year, Hanoi exceeded its dust concentration on 82 days during the first three months of 2018.
Hanoi's poor air quality conditions are mainly created by heavy industries, construction work, agricultural burning and excessive smog from traffic, especially when the city is packed with motorbikes and cars. Air pollution is known as a cause of many troubling environmental and health risks, including tuberculosis, lung cancer, respiratory damage and pneumonia.
