Recognizing that air pollution is one of the serious environmental challenges in Vietnam (especially in large cities such as Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City), Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Environment Le Cong Thanh emphasized that in the era of national development, in addition to the goal of "double-digit" economic development in the coming period, Vietnam needs to pay more attention to environmental protection.
Therefore, through the National Scientific Conference on Controlling and Improving Air Quality in Vietnam, taking place over two days, April 24 and 25, representatives of the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment called on ministries, branches, localities, partners, communities and businesses to "join hands" to take action to preserve the blue sky, protect people's health and build a sustainable living environment.
Fine dust concentration far exceeds national standards
Sharing more at the workshop, Mr. Thanh said that monitoring data and air quality index AQI in big cities such as Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City are often at average level and tend to be poor.
In recent times, the pollution level has continued to increase as the concentration of PM2.5 fine dust in these two cities often exceeds the national technical standards on ambient air quality and much exceeds the WHO recommendations.
Notably, according to Mr. Thanh, in recent years, air pollution has not only lasted seasonally, but also spread spatially, directly affecting people's health, socio-economic development and daily life.
Regarding the causes of air pollution, Mr. Thanh said that pollution comes from many different sources, such as: Emissions from vehicles using fossil fuels; construction activities and urban infrastructure renovation that are not well controlled; emissions from industrial production facilities; and outdoor burning of straw, waste and biomass.
In Hanoi, Mr. Thanh said air pollution often increases sharply from September to April of the following year due to unfavorable weather conditions, temperature inversion, calm winds, and little rain. In Ho Chi Minh City, the main causes of pollution are high traffic density and industrial activities.
“In addition, there is a factor affecting air quality, although there is no official research yet, we are also discussing and evaluating emissions from some natural and transboundary emission sources such as dust from agricultural activities, forest fires, and smoke from surrounding countries that also spread and contribute to increasing pollution,” Mr. Thanh informed.
Need international support
Faced with the increasing trend of air pollution, Deputy Minister Le Cong Thanh said that the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment (the focal point is the Department of Environment) has been coordinating with ministries, branches, localities and enterprises to implement many key tasks such as developing tasks and projects to inventory emissions in key economic regions in the North and South to serve the work of analyzing and evaluating data, building models and scenarios for forecasting air pollution.
“We are currently testing a 48-hour air quality forecasting model at the Northern Environmental Monitoring Center,” said Mr. Thanh.
Along with that, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment is also completing the National Action Plan to overcome pollution and manage air quality, with specific goals for the period 2025 - 2030, with each group of solutions (identified as sources of air pollution) such as emissions, traffic, construction, etc.
In addition, the State management agency in the field of environment has also proactively carried out international cooperation activities and mobilized resources; coordinated with international organizations such as UNDP, ADB, Worldbank, UNEP, large corporations and enterprises in Vietnam to implement pilot projects, develop a network of rapid air quality measurement stations, promote technology transfer, green transportation and mobilize financial and technical resources to improve air quality.
“It is expected that in the near future, the ministry will have two working delegations, including a high-level delegation of the Minister to exchange experiences and learn from Beijing in improving, controlling, and managing air quality,” said Mr. Thanh.
However, to effectively fight air pollution, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Environment Le Cong Thanh also called on international partners and organizations to continue to accompany and support Vietnam in terms of technology, knowledge and resources to effectively implement air quality management in the coming period.
“I hope that agencies, ministries, sectors, localities, businesses and people will actively participate in action programs, from keeping the surrounding environment clean; increasing the use of public transport, reducing personal emissions to deploying and applying advanced and better technological solutions in production and treatment of emissions and waste,” Mr. Thanh emphasized.
Towards a multilateral, multidisciplinary approach
Emphasizing that air is life, Ms. Ramla Khalidi - Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in Vietnam, said that solving air pollution must be a top priority.
Citing a personal story from a few years ago, Ms. Ramla Khalidi said that during a trip to the mountains of Beirut, she witnessed herself walking into a thick smog that enveloped the city, becoming one of millions of people suffocating from the smoke.
“That image is still imprinted in my mind. And now, I cannot help but worry about air pollution; about its consequences for health, economic and social development,” said Ms. Ramla Khalidi.
In Vietnam, Ms. Ramla Khalidi said air pollution is one of the most discussed topics in Hanoi.
Faced with this reality, since the beginning of 2025, Vietnam has issued a resolution calling for urgent actions on air pollution. Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha chaired a high-level meeting of the Government to discuss comprehensive and urgent solutions to address air pollution in major cities.
Recently, Minister of Agriculture and Environment Do Duc Duy also identified key tasks for the environmental sector to strengthen air quality management in 2025. In March, Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Thi Lien Huong and a delegation representing the Vietnamese Government also attended the Global Conference on Air Pollution, held in Colombia.
In line with these efforts, UNDP and WHO have recently developed a comprehensive support package to help management agencies from central to local levels strengthen governance capacity and data systems for air quality management; address pollutants and promote public participation.
“Tackling air pollution is closely linked to our efforts in climate change, the green transition and Climate Change-Health. This reflects our shared commitment to ensuring that no one is left behind, especially those most vulnerable to the impacts of air pollution,” said Ramla Khalidi.
However, the UNDP representative in Vietnam also noted that responding to air pollution requires a deeper understanding as well as a solid foundation of scientific evidence, which underpins the way we approach this issue.
“This requires improving monitoring and forecasting and strengthening emissions statistics as a basis for addressing key pollution sources,” said Ramla Khalidi.
In addition, according to the UNDP representative, Vietnam also needs a multilateral, multi-sectoral approach, with the direction of the Government as well as effective coordination between the central and local levels, and with industries, businesses, universities, media agencies and key community partners.
Source: https://baobinhphuoc.com.vn/news/90/171953/bao-dong-o-nhiem-bui-min-viet-nam-bat-tay-hanh-dong-tim-lai-bau-troi-xanh
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