Find urgent solutions to deal with air pollution in the next 6 months

(Chinhphu.vn) - In the next 6 months, the level of air pollution will increase because this is the peak period for construction projects. The Ministry of Agriculture and Environment has developed a plan to carry out a number of urgent tasks from the end of 2025 to 2026 (focusing on pollution recording times from November to April next year) to overcome the air pollution situation in the Hanoi area.

The peak period of air pollution in Hanoi and the northern provinces usually takes place from October of the previous year to April of the following year.

On November 14, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment (MARD) worked with the ministries of Public Security, Construction, Health and the Hanoi Department of Agriculture and Environment on a plan to coordinate the implementation of urgent measures to handle air pollution.

The peak period of air pollution in Hanoi and the northern provinces usually occurs from October of the previous year to April of the following year. This year, due to the impact of storms and rains, the pollution season started later.

According to Director of the Department of Environment Hoang Van Thuc, in the next 6 months, the level of air pollution will increase because this is the peak period of implementing key national projects and works, constructing civil works, leading to the transportation of materials, dumping of waste, increased number of vehicles participating in traffic... combined with temperature inversion, making the pollution problem more difficult.

To address air pollution, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has worked with ministries, branches and localities (especially Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City) to develop and submit to the Prime Minister for approval the National Action Plan on addressing pollution and managing air quality for the 2026-2030 period, with a vision to 2045.

For Hanoi, solutions to reduce air pollution are being vigorously implemented. Deputy Head of the Department of Environmental Management, Hanoi Department of Agriculture and Environment Luu Thanh Chi said: "To control emissions from traffic, the Department of Agriculture and Environment is submitting to the Hanoi People's Council policies and mechanisms on converting means of transport from fossil fuels to environmentally friendly vehicles."

The city also has a project to build a low-emission zone, which will be implemented from July 1, 2026. However, Hanoi is facing many difficulties in traffic infrastructure to accommodate people's vehicle conversion.

Regarding open burning sources, the most positive point that Hanoi has achieved so far is that the rate of people not using coal stoves has reached 99%, and the rate of straw burning has reached over 80%. The remaining problem is that there is still the situation of burning straw after harvest and spontaneous burning of waste in suburban areas.

Regarding dust treatment at construction sites, the Department of Agriculture and Environment has inspected but not covered everything, while the commitment of enterprises in the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Report is still weak.

Inter-sectoral and inter-regional coordination is needed to respond to air pollution.

To strengthen the direction, implementation, and coordination among sectors and provinces in implementing actions to respond to air pollution, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment has drafted a Project to establish a National Steering Committee on pollution remediation (focusing on solving inter-sectoral and inter-regional pollution for the Capital Region), and is seeking opinions from ministries, sectors, and localities.

The Ministry has also established a network to connect and share information, weekly synthesizing contents and activities (from ministries, branches, and localities) to report to the Prime Minister. At the same time, it has developed a plan to implement a number of urgent tasks in the period from the end of 2025-2026 (focusing on pollution recording times from November of the previous year to April of the following year) to overcome the air pollution situation in the Hanoi area.

Emphasizing that solving air pollution is inter-sectoral and inter-regional, at the meeting, ministries and branches proactively proposed both urgent and long-term solutions to this problem.

On the side of the Ministry of Public Security, according to Colonel Tran Anh Tuan, Deputy Director of the Department of Environmental Crime Prevention (C05), the Ministry is submitting a revised Ordinance on Commune Police, in which the functions, tasks and powers of the commune police will be equivalent to those of the district police before. Therefore, in the coming time, the commune police will have the basis to detect, combat and handle violations and environmental pollution.

The Ministry of Construction proposed that the Government should assign the provincial People's Committees to direct the Departments to jointly develop regulations for managing and supervising construction works causing dust pollution; at the same time, have a mechanism to promote socialization in traffic emission inspection.

The Ministry of Health is also calculating the impact of diseases caused by air pollution (the model is being implemented at the National Children's Hospital), from which recommendations for people's health are made.

On the side of the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, in addition to the plans of the Department of Environment, other units are also actively implementing many practical activities such as using remote sensing equipment to monitor air quality in regions, integrating environmental monitoring into hydrometeorological stations, and developing a project to process straw into biochar...

Thu Cuc

Source: https://baochinhphu.vn/tim-giai-phap-cap-bach-ung-pho-voi-o-nhiem-khong-khi-trong-6-thang-toi-102251114164750423.htm