Officials in Vietnam called on industrial facilities in the capital city of Hanoi to slow or halt manufacturing amid an air quality crisis, the South China Morning Post reported.
What's happening?
According to the SCMP, Vietnam's Ministry of Health began asking manufacturing plant operators to "scale back" operations early in the week of Dec. 8, as the air quality index approached 200.
Although AQI thresholds vary by jurisdiction, several U.S. federal agencies partner with AirNow.gov, which serves as the Environmental Protection Agency's clearinghouse for air quality data using a color-coded chart.
AQI ratings of 0 to 100 are generally viewed as safe for the general public, but values above that indicate potentially hazardous levels of pollution. Globally, a private Swiss company called IQAir both sells air quality-related equipment and monitors the AQI in major cities such as Hanoi.
On Dec. 3, IQAir observed that Hanoi had moved into the top 10 "most polluted cities" with an AQI of 208, which it deemed "very unhealthy."
By Thursday, Dec. 11, Hanoi's AQI had risen to 243, creating suffocating conditions for locals.
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"My eyes are itchy, and there's always a blanket of smog that blocks my vision. I have to wear a mask all the time," 30-year-old resident Pham Thu Giang said, per SCMP.
Why is this concerning?
Manufacturing facilities are permanent structures, suggesting that other factors likely drove a spike in air pollution.
IQAir's Dec. 3 report cited "a combination of unfavorable winter weather patterns and multiple pollution sources" as primary factors in Hanoi's sudden air quality drop.
Throughout November, extreme weather battered Vietnam, including a typhoon so strong that it unearthed a long-lost shipwreck in the historic port city of Hội An.
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Always 💯 "Extreme weather" is not interchangeable with "intense weather" such as typhoons, hurricanes, or cyclones; it's a distinct phenomenon fueled by an overheating planet. As temperatures continue rising and seas heat, these standard weather patterns become supercharged.
In that respect, pollution exacerbates the issue both by driving the warming that causes extreme weather and by directly sickening those who live in cities prone to smog.
Decreasing air quality is a global problem, and in April, the American Lung Association warned that nearly half of Americans lived with "unhealthy levels of smog and soot" — the highest rates in a decade, up 16% from the previous year.
Research published in 2024 emphasized this harmful trend and found that rising temperatures had begun to erode improvements that the Clean Air Act of 1963 introduced.
Sustained exposure to air pollution is linked with serious health problems, including higher rates of asthma and cancer.
What's being done about it?
Starting in 2026, Hanoi will "impose partial bans" on gas-powered bikes, eventually broadening the restrictions to non-electric vehicles, per SCMP.
Broadly, using public transport and choosing low-impact travel options also helps curb air pollution.
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