China’s air quality improved across the country in 2017, the environmental protection ministry said Thursday, after the problem was so dire in previous years that some periods were dubbed an “airpocalypse”. Analysts say recent improvements in air quality were sparked by favourable weather conditions and more aggressive enforcement of environmental rules The average level of PM2.5 particles — which penetrate deep into the lungs — in 338 cities stood at 43 micrograms per cubic metre last year, falling 6.5 percent year-on-year, according to a ministry statement. The World Health Organization recommends a maximum average exposure of 25 micrograms per cubic metre in a 24-hour period. The average level of slightly larger PM10 particles in the cities declined to 75 micrograms per cubic metre, 5.1 percent less than in 2016, the ministry said. Pollution has plagued China for years, with the dramatic fouling of the country’s air, water and soil representing the dark side of breakneck economic growth that has lifted hundreds of millions out of poverty. Analysts said recent improvements were sparked by favourable weather conditions and more aggressive enforcement of environmental rules. Authorities have ordered polluting factories to leave Beijing and its surroundings, and designated “no-coal zones” where more than three million homes have abruptly switched to gas or electric heating. Questions remain, however, on whether the government’s measures are sustainable. On Thursday evening, heavy smog blanketed the capital and surrounding northern areas. As China nears the end of its five-year plan for combating smog, experts and activists have… [Read full story]
Smog covers Thailand's Phuket province on October 9 (Source: Reuters/TTXVN)Thai authorities on October 9 said the air quality in the country’s southern provinces has improved and is now within the limit set for public safety standards.According to statistics of the country’s Pollution Control Department, as of October 9, particulate matter in seven southern provinces of Thailand have fallen to 52-100 micrograms per cubic metre of air.Earlier, the figure was recorded at about 201 micrograms per cubic metre, a nearly 1.7 time higher than the safety limit, which is ranged at about 120 micrograms per cubic metre.The haze pollution, coming from Indonesian…... [read more]
PANO - A major event for atmospheric environment research and Vietnamese-French cooperation will be held at the French Institute in Hoan Kiem under the high patronage of the Ambassador of France in Vietnam and of the Vietnamese Vice-Minister of Natural Resources and Environment. Air Quality in Hanoi: A Better Tomorrow? Which Asian city has the lowest rate of use of public transport? It is Hanoi, of course. Today four million private vehicles bring daily congestion, protracted journey times and extreme pollution to the city. Particle emission levels (PM10) for instance, are now twice as high as the threshold set by…... [read more]
Hanoi will roll out action programmes and plans to improve air quality in the city (Source: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – Hanoi will roll out action programmes andplans to improve air quality in the city based on the outcomes of aFrench-funded air quality assessment project, said a municipal leader. Chairman of the Hanoi People’s Committee Nguyen Duc Chung made the statement ata reception for French Ambassador to Vietnam Bertrand Lortholary, Director ofAirparif Frederic Bouvier, and Director of the French DevelopmentAgency (AFD) in Vietnam Fabrice Richy in Hanoi on October 17. During the meeting, the two sides reviewed the one-year-old project,under which air monitoring stations…... [read more]
VietNamNet Bridge - Vietnam’s legal loopholes on regulations of air quality need to be eliminated immediately, experts say. Air quality control has not improved considerably as Vietnam still doesn’t have technical regulations for odors and indoor air. The current laws do not clearly stipulate total volume of emissions and time of discharge. A scientist explained that the lack of regulation on the time of discharge worsens air pollution, because when many factories discharge waste at the same time, the emissions-receiving sources become overloaded. The volume of emissions in the air depends on the scale or fields of operation of industrial…... [read more]
Vietnamese and French experts have emphasised the necessity for issuing new standards for vehicles to reduce emissions and encouraging the development of clean energy. At a symposium themed, “Air Quality Improvement and Urban Transport: Best Practice and Cooperative Projects” in Hanoi on March 21, Director of UBIFRANCE Trade Agency of the French Embassy in Hanoi Marc Cagnard and Deputy Head of the Environment General Department Hoang Duong Tung said the degradation in air quality affects the community and causes socio-economic losses. State management agencies, branches, organisations, individuals and the community should exert joint efforts to improve air quality, they said.…... [read more]
