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| Hanoi's streets in very smoggy morning__(Photo: Huy Hung/VNA) |
Vietnam will construct 98 continuous automatic air quality monitoring stations from now until 2030.
According to Government Decision 224/QD-TTg dated March 7, 2024, approving the national master plan on environmental monitoring for the 2021-2030 period with a vision toward 2050, 62 are scheduled to be situated in areas heavily influenced by human activities to warn people about impact on their health while six background stations representing the air quality of six socio-economic regions will be built in areas with minimal impact by human.
There will also be 18 cross-border monitoring points located in the provinces of Ha Giang, Cao Bang, Dien Bien, Lang Son, Lai Chau, Lao Cai, Nghe An, Dak Nong, Binh Phuoc, Tay Ninh, An Giang, Long An, and Kien Giang. These stations will measure SO2, NO2, CO, O3, PM 2.5 and PM 10.
From now until 2025, eight regular monitoring sessions will be held annually per year, and the figure will increase to 12 afterward, providing data on SO2, NO2, CO, and TSP. The five centrally-run cities will additionally monitor PM 2.5.
After 2030, 15 more continuous automatic air quality monitoring stations are planned to be built.
The master plan also requires integrating noise monitoring at 216 stations and initiating the establishment of an automated mercury monitoring network.
In addition, it specifies investments in installing monitoring stations for surface water, river mouth water, seawater, soil quality, and biodiversity.-(VLLF)
