Air quality

I don’t really want to make this an environmental blog, but I feel like “people” are talking about air quality in Vietnam. (By people, I just mean some news stories).

But it seems like air pollution and air quality is something that people are more and more concerned about. For example, this story in VN Express, gives an indication that people are worried.

Part of the reason that people are paying more attention is because air quality is getting worse.

The PM2.5 particulate level reached a five-year high last month, according to a report from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.

DALYs = disability-adjusted life year, or years lost to disability or death. Source: WHO

It really matters, because air quality is important for health. Looking at some figures from 2016, air pollution in Vietnam hurts health at a rate almost 50% more than in countries like the US and the UK. At least in 2016, Vietnam was actually not the worse, by a long mile, in ASEAN. Thailand, Philippines, Laos and China (not in ASEAN) are all much worse.

I would assume that these numbers are just increasing with the worsening AQI figures. As in China, the US Embassy has become the main source of AQI figures in Vietnam. But it doesn’t sound like the government is trying to hide it.

Solutions are quite difficult. One of the reasons developed countries like the UK and the US have higher quality air is because the dirtiest businesses are no longer there. These “dirty” companies are now in developing countries. As Vietnam grows and manufactures more, it is very likely that air pollution will grow unless the government takes some big steps quickly.

These include:

• Limiting private vehicles

• Using cleaner renewables (not biomass, but wind and solar)

• Adding more tree cover

• Keeping industrial emissions in check

These are all very difficult to do and not really something that the government has committed to (outside of renewables). Obviously public transport would be a big help, and there is a metro plan (albeit delayed). The push to electric buses also helps. But coal-fired plants are a step back, and it doesn’t seem like there’s a real commitment to greater tree cover. Development has been a big priority (and it should be - shelter is important). That’s why these are difficult.

China has made great strides in reducing air pollution in Beijing over the past five years, but it may have just moved out of the capital into other provinces. Let’s hope that this acute attention doesn’t lead Vietnam down the same path. The government may be able to make a difference quickly in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, but hopefully not at the expense of poorer cities.