HCM City (VNS/VNA) – Ho Chi Minh City authorities have promised totake swift action to curb the worsening air pollution, including improvingenvironmental monitoring capacity and establishing an early warning system forresidents.

Cao Tung Son, director of the HCM City Department of Natural Resources andEnvironment’s Centre for Environmental and Natural Resources Monitoring, saidthe city was calling for investment in 11 additional air-monitoring stations by2030.

The city also plans to speed up current projects to build nine automaticair-monitoring stations and one mobile station to enhance environmentalmonitoring capacity. 

It will enhance application of high-tech to manage the environmental monitoringnetwork, especially the air environmental network.

“The city will develop specialised software that will provide early warningsabout air pollution to residents on a daily basis via the media orsmartphones,” he said.

The city will strictly oversee and enforce the laws on environmental protectionand punish violations by production, service and business establishments, industrialparks and industrial complexes.

It will also implement measures to reduce traffic congestion and pollutioncaused by vehicles, according to Son, who spoke at a press conference held inHCM City on October 9.

In recent weeks, photochemical smog, which is harmful to human health, becameworse in major cities such as Hanoi and HCM City, according to local media.

Photochemical smog is a common phenomenon in traffic hot spots in HCM Citywhere the level of air pollution exceeds the permissible limit, according tothe centre.

Currently, the department is implementing air quality monitoring at 30monitoring locations for a 10-day period each month from 7:30am to 8:30pm andfrom 3pm to 4pm. 

The concentration of pollutants observed at 30 monitoring locations in thefirst nine months of this year has increased significantly compared to the sameperiod last year, according to the centre.

According to a report from the centre, in the first nine months, theconcentration of air pollution has exceeded the permitted level in majortraffic points in HCM City, especially in recent days, such as Cat Lai, HuynhTan Phat-Nguyen Van Linh, Go Vap, An Suong and Binh Phuoc crossroad stations.

The most polluted area is the Cat Lai Station at My Thuy roundabout in District2 where dust concentration has exceeded 99 percent and noise levels haveexceeded 100 percent against the permissible level.

Smoke from cars and motorcycles caught in traffic is one of the major causes ofair pollution, according to Son.

Experts have recommended that HCM City diversify investment in energyproduction, shifting to cleaner sources such as solar energy and energy-savingequipment.

The economic losses due to early deaths caused by air pollution were equivalentto 5-7 percent of Vietnam’s GDP last year, or 11.4-15.9 billion USD, with atleast 40,000 people dying of diseases related to pollution.

The number of deaths caused by air pollution is four times the number due totraffic accidents, which is around 11,000 a year.

It is estimated that the number of deaths each year due to air pollution willrise to over 100,000 by 2035, experts said.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), air pollution is considered“a silent killer” in Vietnam.

According to statistics from WHO, air pollution is one of the highest causes ofdeath in the world with around eight million people dying each year.

WHO data also shows that six out of the 10 diseases with the highest mortalityrates in Vietnam are related to air pollution.

Vietnam’s urban areas have various types of pollutants far exceedingpermissible limits, especially major urban areas like HCM City and Hanoi,according to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.

The HCM City Department of Natural Resources and Environment recommends thatpeople, especially children, the elderly, pregnant women and those withrespiratory diseases, limit outdoor activities due to rising pollution, and usemasks and glasses to cover the face and eyes when going out.

The agency has warned that levels of PM2.5, a particle with a diameter of lessthan 2.5 micrometres, could continue to remain high, especially at midnight andin early morning in the city.

The phenomenon occurs due to dry sunny weather during the day and low surfaceair temperatures at night.

Photochemical smog is caused by the interaction of solar ultraviolet radiation,engine exhaust emissions and industrial emissions, which means it is mostprevalent in populated urban areas./.