Urgent action and specific goals

In fact, although the Government has been giving strong instructions, management agencies as well as experts have met many times to discuss, dissect, identify causes to come up with solutions, air pollution, especially in big cities like Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, is still a burning issue.

Specifically, according to monitoring data, from October 2024 to now, Hanoi and some northern provinces continue to be heavily affected by air pollution. At its peak on March 25-26, according to the global air quality monitoring application (IQAir), there were times when Hanoi ranked first in the world in terms of air pollution levels.

According to data from the Northern Environmental Monitoring Center, at 1 p.m. on March 25, most of the northern regions also showed increased pollution. In particular, the AQI index in Hanoi and Thai Nguyen was recorded at a bad warning level. Most recently, at 1 p.m. on March 27, although the AQI index on the IQAir system showed that air pollution in Hanoi had improved, it still ranked 11th among the most polluted major cities, with an AQI index of 151...

The main causes and components of pollution, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, are mainly road dust, exhaust fumes from vehicles, especially old and dilapidated vehicles; PM10 dust and PM2.5 fine dust. Analyzing this further, an expert said that one of the main causes is the rapid growth of the number of personal vehicles while the transport infrastructure, especially public transport, has not met the requirements.

In addition, the construction activities and emissions from neighboring localities have also aggravated the pollution and degraded urban air quality. Another reason why air pollution in urban areas has not been thoroughly resolved is that local authorities have not been resolute and have not allocated enough financial resources to synchronously implement solutions. The establishment and implementation of development planning are also not synchronous, lacking feasible solutions to protect the environment.

To overcome this situation, in the immediate future, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, it is necessary to organize supervision of construction works. Plan routes for trucks, control old vehicles, and strengthen public transport. Increase road cleaning, dust sweeping, and install water sprinkler systems on main traffic routes. Tighten management of garbage burning and post-harvest straw burning, encourage recycling; assign and supervise the implementation of responsibilities of local authorities at district and commune levels. Automatically monitor emissions from factories and strictly handle violations. Propagate and educate about the harmful effects of air pollution and mitigation measures.

In the long term, it is necessary to focus on perfecting policies on emission control and green transformation. Complete the inventory of emission sources, organize strict monitoring; operate a warning and command system based on a database of emission sources, technical solutions, automatic monitoring technology for large emission sources and online connection. Develop a smart, environmentally friendly, green public transport system. Increase investment in air quality monitoring, forecasting and warning systems; connect, exchange and share information and results of task implementation among ministries, branches and localities.

Air pollution is an urgent issue. The longer it is left untreated, the greater the impact on health and all aspects of socio-economic life; the more expensive it is to reduce and remedy. Therefore, it is time for localities to take urgent action and have specific implementation targets.

Ninh Ha

Source: https://daibieunhandan.vn/hanh-dong-khan-cap-va-muc-tieu-cu-the-post409294.html