Hanoi Air Pollution Categorized “Very Unhealthy” by U.S. Embassy | VUFO – NGO Resource Centre Vietnam

According to the real-time Air Quality Monitor system installed at the U.S. Embassy in Hanoi, the air quality index (AQI) in the capital city on October 5 climbed to as high as 241 in the morning – which puts the air quality into the “very unhealthy” group. Several local news outlets reported on the information, noting that the high AQI score puts Hanoi’s air pollution into the second worst place in the world, behind that in Ardhali Bazar, India (471). Results from the project, which shows worldwide air quality monitoring date coverage since 2007. AQI in Hanoi poses “health warnings of emergency conditions” that the entire population is more likely to be affected, according to the website www.aqicn.org. Active children and adults, and people with respiratory disease, such as asthma, should avoid all outdoor exertion; everyone else, especially children, should limit outdoor exertion, according to the website. In respond to the information, Mai Trong Thai from the municipal Department of Natural Resources and Environment said that the figure is scientifically groundless and inaccurate because it reflects air quality at a certain time within a certain place only. The U.S. Embassy in Hanoi said that the air pollution is accurate but the index is only measured in a narrow area (at the Embassy headquarters on Lang Ha street), and thus, does not reflect accurately the air quality of an entire city. AQI is based on PM, or Particulate Matter, is the term for a mixture of solid particles and liquid droplets found in the air. PM2.5 particulates are fine particles with diameters that are 2.5 micrometers or less. (www.aqicn.org Oct 4,Vietnamplus.vn Oct 5, Vntinnhanh.vn Oct 5)