HANOI (Xinhua): The northern region of Vietnam continued to experience poor air quality as of Tuesday (April 18) morning, with private air quality network PAM Air declaring the conditions as "unhealthy" and "very unhealthy."
Dozens of air monitoring stations in some northern localities, including Hanoi city, Hung Yen and Thai Nguyen provinces, reported the Air Quality Index (AQI) as red (AQI 151-200, "unhealthy").
The air monitoring station in Cam Xa commune, My Hao district, Hung Yen province, reported that the index peaked at AQI 305, the hazardous level. The index surpassed 300, meaning everyone may experience more severe health effects.
The local newspaper Vietnam News reported that the air quality in some localities is deteriorating due to fine dust particles and weather conditions, citing the Department of Environmental Pollution Control under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.
The current adverse weather developments, such as differences in temperature, humidity, wind direction and thermal radiation, have affected the diffusion of air pollutants, which makes dust stay longer in the air, the department said.
The department urged local authorities to increase the frequency of air monitoring programmes, focus on inspecting and supervising industrial production facilities to control emissions and ensure companies install emission monitoring systems, the newspaper reported.
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