Deputy Prime Minister Calls for Urgent Air Quality Improvements in Hanoi and HCMC

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Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha has set an urgent directive for Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City to drastically improve air quality over the next five years, addressing health and developmental concerns caused by worsening pollution levels.

 

Recognizing dust, vehicular emissions, construction, industry, and agriculture as major pollution contributors, Ha criticized current anti-pollution programs for being disjointed and ineffective. He mandated immediate action to create a synchronised response to improving air quality.

 

Key measures include a detailed inventory of emission sources and a robust annual and five-year action plan, outlining sector-specific emission reduction targets. These plans should incorporate enhanced public transport use, a transition to low-emission vehicles, stricter local emission standards, and the recall of outdated vehicles. Additionally, waste emissions from construction and urban development are to be managed more rigorously to reduce environmental dispersion.

 

 

 

Local authorities will gain increased power to enforce compliance, and industrial clusters will need to transition into managed industrial parks or relocate. To support these efforts, air quality monitoring stations will expand, especially in transitional seasons, with publicly accessible data.

 

On a national scale, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, alongside Construction and Industry and Trade, will carry out a comprehensive national emission inventory and develop a strategic air quality management plan for 2026–2030. Updated emission standards for automobiles and motorcycles are expected by April, and a joint inspection team will begin overseeing polluting industries by July.

 

To tackle visible pollution data, IQAir reports indicated that the Air Quality Index was 177 in Hanoi and 155 in HCMC, marking "unhealthy" conditions necessitating masks and limited outdoor activities. Clean air objectives aim to bring PM2.5 levels, which pose serious health risks when absorbed into the bloodstream, closer to safe standards as defined by the World Health Organization, reported VN Express.

 

-- 2025-04-08