Description

This information was delivered from an online workshop organized by the Vietnam Live and Learn Centre for Environment and Community, the University of Engineering and Technology under the Vietnam National University – Hanoi (VNU-UET), the Vietnam Clean Air Partnership (VCAP), and the “Tia Sang” magazine of the Ministry of Science and Technology on 1st December. The workshop shared the research results of a report on the state of particulate matters of 2.5 microns or smaller in size (PM2.5) in the period 2019 – 2020 using multisource data and the trend of application of satellite technology in air pollution monitoring and research. The event is within the framework of projects “Join hands for clean air” and “Improving air pollution monitoring and management of Vietnam with satellite PM2.5 observation” which is funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

For the first time, an overview picture of the state of PM.25 for all 63 provinces and cities in Vietnam has been implemented. The report showed that although the air quality in 2020 (8 – 35,8 µg/m3) has improved compared to 2019 (9 – 41 µg/m3) due to COVID-19 restriction, many areas and localities suffer from air pollution with excessive PM2.5 concentrations (compared to national technical regulation QCVN 05:2013/BTNMT). However, if comparing to the standard of the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2021 (5 µg/m3) and 2005 (10 µg/m3), the average PM2.5 contents in all provinces and cities in the period 2019 – 2020 were significantly higher.

State of PM2.5 pollution in Vietnam 2019-2020 compared to national technical regulation QCVN 05:2013/BTNMT. Source of figure: Report on the state of particulate matters of 2.5 microns or smaller in size (PM2.5) in the period 2019 – 2020 using multisource data, showed in https://www.moitruongvadothi.vn

Overall, air pollution is more serious in the North than in the remaining part of Vietnam. Areas with high PM2.5 contents are the Red River Delta (Hà Nội and the surrounding provinces), Thanh Hóa, Nghệ An, Hà Tĩnh (coastal zones), Hồ Chí Minh city, Đồng Nai, and Bình Dương. More specifically, in 2019, 13/63 provinces and cities had excessive limits of average PM2.5 concentrations compared to national technical regulation QCVN 05:2013/BTNMT including 11 in the North and 2 in the South. In 2020, all 10/63 provinces and cities of excessive PM2.5 limits are from the Nord. However, there is a substantial difference in PM2.5 contents between localities within a province or city, especially between countryside and urban areas.

The research group proposed five recommendations: (1) applying multisource and satellite data in the modeling and monitoring of air quality. (2) Mapping of PM2.5 at levels of districts and towns for the provinces with excessive PM2.5 contents. (3) Strengthening research on identifying major factors contributing to PM2.5 and other air pollutants. (4) Increasing qualified air quality stations nationwide. (5) Enhancing technology application in PM2.5 monitoring and other air pollutants.

Related articles:
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National Report on Environment 2016 – 2020: air pollution is predominant issue
Experts: transportation as leading cause of air pollution, development of electric vehicles as a solution in Vietnam 
MONRE: issued decision on air pollution control plan 2021 – 2025
MONRE: Instruction on developing plan for air quality management at provincial level
National State of Environment 2021 is on air quality
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Sources & further information: “Báo cáo đầy đủ về hiện trạng bụi PM2.5 tại Việt Nam giai đoạn 2019-2020” at https://www.moitruongvadothi.vn, “Vietnam applies satellite data to monitoring air quality” at http://dtinews.vn, and “PM2.5 pollution still problematic across Việt Nam” at https://vietnamnews.vn, accessed on 2 December 2021.