The Department of Natural Resources and Environment of Hanoi held a seminar on Thursday to discuss a plan on air quality management and call on relevant parties to jointly deal with poor air quality in the Vietnamese capital city.

Data released by the department showed that the city managed to eliminate over 99 percent of charcoal stoves, reduce the burning of straw in suburban areas by 80 percent, tear down hundreds of brick kilns, and properly collect and transport more than 90 percent of garbage to landfills across the city on a daily basis.

The city is working to trial the measurement of motorcycle emissions in an attempt to find effective solutions to air pollution.

Despite efforts to improve air quality, air pollution remains a pressing issue in Hanoi.

Air quality monitoring stations assessed the air quality as ‘bad’ for more than 30 percent of a year.

This means city dwellers had to suffer poor air quality for up to 110 days in a year.

The average concentration of PM2.5 in Hanoi almost doubled Vietnam’s acceptable limits.

PM, or particulate matter, is the term for a mixture of solid particles and liquid droplets found in the air.

It is typically categorized by size, with PM10 representing particles measuring between 2.5 and 10 µm in diameter, and PM2.5 referring to particles measuring 2.5 µm or less in diameter.

Exposure to particulate matter has been associated with respiratory diseases, asthma, and even cancer, with children, pregnant women, and the elderly at higher risk.

Transportation is currently a major source of PM2.5 pollution in the city, followed by industrial emissions, agricultural production, and daily activities.

Addressing the seminar, Nguyen Huong Hue from the French Development Agency (Agence Française de Développement-AFD) said that AFD has collaborated with Hanoi on a project to improve the air quality in the city.

Huong expressed her hope that Hanoi will ramp up efforts to encourage more people to use public means of transport to reduce gas emissions.

Do Quang Huy from the Vietnam Association of Motorcycle Manufacturers (VAMM) said that VAMM has made ceaseless efforts in researching and manufacturing more eco-friendly motorcycles.

VAMM advised its customers to get regular motorcycle maintenance, Huy said, adding that the association launched a project to inspect old vehicles and adopt measures to control gas emissions.

In early March this year, the municipal administration passed a plan on air quality management.

The city strives to minimize air pollution and maintain good air quality for at least 75 percent of a year until 2030, as per the plan.

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