Air quality in Hanoi on January 14 morning worsened to the unhealthy level (purple), severely harmful to human health, and has become the most polluted day since early 2020, according to the Hanoi Department of Natural Resources and Environment.

On the department’s official page (Moitruongthudo.vn), the capital city’s air quality was recorded at the very bad and unhealthy levels. Accordingly, Hang Dau and Minh Khai were the two areas with the highest air quality index (AQI), respectively 215 and 217. Pham Van Dong’s AQI reading was 212.

AQI recorded at Moitruongthudo.vn

Areas such as Hoan Kiem, My Dinh and Tay Mo which usually have good air quality, had the AQI reach 195, 191 and 181 this morning.

Since January 1, air quality in Hanoi has hovered around 150; but AQI above 200 was recorded this morning.

The Hanoi Agency of Environmental Protection (AEP) said the capital city’s air quality was quite good (green) last week thanks to wind, adding that the AQI tended to increase due to fog in this week.

Hanoi’s air quality will remain bad and very bad in the coming days. It will be rainy and heavily foggy, thus, the air quality will not improve soon, AEP said.

It added that early morning often sees the worst reading during the day, even though there haven't been many activities causing pollution. At noon, the AQI tends to decrease.

The AEP repeated the recommendations that Hanoi’s residents should follow air quality information where they are living and working before going out to prevent diseases.

Besides, sensitive groups including children, the elderly and people with respiratory diseases should limit their time outdoors.

In case of going out, people should use PM2.5 dust-proof face masks which meet the standard and should travel by car or bus. In particular, pupils should not participate in outdoor activities.
When travelling on roads, people need to strictly follow traffic laws to reduce traffic congestion.

People should reduce activities that cause air pollution such as burning waste, cooking by charcoal stoves, transporting construction waste without shielding.

Information on the capital city’s air quality is continuously updated at the website: https://moitruongthudo.vn/ and https://airhanoi.hanoi.gov.vn/.