- Title: Hanoi residents brave smog despite health warning to limit outdoor activities
- Date: 2nd October 2019
- Summary: HANOI, VIETNAM (OCTOBER 2, 2019) (REUTERS) HANOI'S SKYLINE COVERED IN SMOG VARIOUS OF TRAFFIC ON HANOI ROADS HANOI RESIDENT, NGUYEN DUC PHUONG, WORKING OUT IN THE OPEN (SOUNDBITE) (Vietnamese) HANOI RESIDENT, NGUYEN DUC PHUONG, SAYING: "At the moment, air pollution is the main concern of many people. The reason is - in recent days, Hanoi reached level 300, the purple level which means it is at most dangerous (level). Few months ago, we could see the skyline from where I am standing, but now sometimes we cannot see them (the high rises) at all as they are all covered in a thick smog." VARIOUS OF HANOI SKYLINE, ACROSS THE LAKE, COVERED IN HAZE ANOTHER HANOI RESIDENT, VU VAN QUANG, WORKING OUT IN OPEN NEAR A RIVER BANK (SOUNDBITE) (Vietnamese) HANOI RESIDENT, VU VAN QUANG, SAYING": "I am still getting outdoor, but I feel that the air is a bit suffocating. At around 7-8 in the morning is when it starts to get worse, and the level of unpleasantness also rises due to air pollution." VARIOUS OF TRAFFIC ON HANOI ROADS A LARGE NUMBER OF MOTORBIKES IN HANOI TRAFFIC VARIOUS OF PEOPLE DRIVING MOTORCYCLES THROUGH A DUSTY ROAD (SOUNDBITE) (Vietnamese) GRAB BIKE DRIVER, NGUYEN XUAN THUY, SAYING: "All I see is dust. These days the environment is no longer clean. There is dust in the air almost 24 hours every day" VARIOUS OF A TREE WITH ITS LEAVES COVERED IN BROWN DUST A WOMAN COVERING HER CHILD'S FACE WITH ONE ARM WHILE RIDING HER MOTORBIKE WITH THE OTHER ARM MOTORBIKE DRIVERS COVERING THEIR FACE WITH THEIR HANDS A DUSTY ROAD DUE TO ONGOING CONSTRUCTION
- Embargoed: 16th October 2019 07:55
- Keywords: Hanoi Vietnam air pollution high level dangerous Outdoor activities traffic
- Location: HANOI, VIETNAM
- City: HANOI, VIETNAM
- Country: Vietnam
- Topics: Pollution,Environment
- Reuters ID: LVA001AZEK4ZR
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Residents in Hanoi ventured out for morning activities on Wednesday (October 2) shrugging off an official health warning to limit outdoor activities because of unhealthy air quality in Vietnam's capital
The levels of hazardous small particles known as PM2.5 in the air at the country's two largest cities, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, have been rising persistently since early last month, exceeding "Vietnamese standards," the government said in a statement on Tuesday (October 1).
The government blamed the pollution on low rain and farmers burning rice crop remnants after the harvest to prepare for new plantings. Coal is also widely used for power generation in the country.
Air Visual - an independent online air quality index monitor - says Hanoi's reading of PM2.5 has exceeded 300 micrograms per cubic meter at times, the worst in the world. On Tuesday, it showed PM2.5 levels at 180 in Hanoi and 86 in Ho Chi Minh.
The World Health Organization recommends an air quality standard for PM2.5 of no more than 10 micrograms per cubic meter.
PM2.5 levels are forecast to stay high over the next days, particularly at night and early in the morning, the government statement added.
(Production: Thinh Nguyen, Minh Nguyen, Sunil Kataria) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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