Air quality in Can Tho

What is the air quality in Can Tho?

In 2017 a local committee was inaugurated to monitor the air quality in Can Tho and enforce any change needed to improve it.

Can Tho City has quickly become a modernized and industrialized city undergoing rapid population growth affecting the local environment, especially air quality and human health. In 2015, Can Tho had over a million inhabitants with over half a million motorcycles and around 15,000 automobiles. There are more than 1000 factories in the city. The main industries responsible for most of the pollution are textile and dyeing industries, food processing, cement, and steel production and rice processing. The aims of this research are threefold. Primarily to conduct a detailed air pollution emission inventory, and secondly to study the formation of the air pollution plume over the city, and finally to study different pollution abatement strategies for the city.

The results showed that transportation and industrial activities are the two main emission sources responsible for 80% of total nitric oxide (NO_x), 90% of total sulphur dioxide (SO₂), 75% of carbon monoxide (CO), 60% of total suspended particles, and 60% of non-methane volatile organic compounds.

Is the air in Can Tho polluted?

As with most large cities, air pollution is caused by vehicle emissions and exhausts from factories and coal-fired power stations. According to experts, urban air pollution caused by traffic accounts for about 70%.

In 2015 and 2018, the annual average air quality index (AQI) of Can Tho exceeded the recommended threshold, albeit only marginally. However, this shows that the city's air quality tends to exceed the safety threshold and can adversely affect the health of some sensitive groups such as the elderly, children, and those with pre-existing medical conditions.

Transportation activities, industries, handicrafts and construction activities are the main sources of air pollution in Can Tho. In addition, the agricultural activities of many farmers still have the habit of burning straw, which releases a large amount of fine dust and smoke into the air. They burn the residual organic matter, following the harvest as a way of preparing the ground for the planting of the next crop.

The city is rapidly expanding, which, in turn, leads to a rapid increase in the number of vehicles driving through the city. This creates a huge pressure on the urban air environment. A characteristic of Vietnamese cities in general and Can Tho is no exception is that 2-wheeled motor vehicles occupy a large proportion of that number. The process of burning engine fuel creates toxic gases that affect the air such as carbon dioxide (CO₂), carbon monoxide (CO), sulphur dioxide (SO₂), nitric oxide (NOx) and lead (Pb).

How safe is Can Tho’s air?

Recently, the Ho Chi Minh City Institute of Public Health collaborated with the World Health Organization (WHO) to collect data on the air pollution in Can Tho for the period 2011-2018. Preliminary results show that the air quality situation of Can Tho in the period 2011-2018 was still within the prescribed limits. However, the average annual concentration of fine dust or PM2.5 is at 50.2-51.5 µg/m³ annually, exceeding the WHO air quality standard of 50 µg/m³), albeit only slightly.

Air pollution is both a cause of the formation and an exacerbation of a number of diseases, from asthma to cardiovascular disease, lung cancer, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease, psychological complications and autism. The microscopic PM2.5 particles have the ability to penetrate deep into the lungs and eventually become lodged in the alveoli which are found at the base of the bronchial tubes. From here they can pass through internal tissue and eventually reach the heart. Those with pre-existing medical conditions are at particular risk.

Can anything be done to improve the air quality in Can Tho?

Air pollution has many implications for human and biological health. Recently, the air pollution in some big cities such as Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City is increasing at an alarming rate. With rapid urbanization and industrialization, Can Tho city proactively implements measures to prevent and reduce air pollution at source within the city.

Activities are organised which include the direct participation of the community such as a campaign to clean the environment, collect and treat waste, the encouragement of the use of public transport and the limitation of personal means of transport which will help minimize the source of pollution. At the same time, strengthen the implementation of state management on environmental protection and to strictly control the source of emissions which cause the worst air pollution. The local government is actively investing in the installation, operation and the connection of the automatic and continuous transmission of air and exhaust monitoring data from both the urban areas and the production facilities that produce unacceptably large volumes of emissions which will enable them to forecast and issue warnings of air quality to the residents.

In April 2019, Can Tho City People's Committee approved the Action Plan for Can Tho Clean Air until 2025. Consequently, the Plan identifies mitigation activities and proposed solutions. It will monitor emissions from sources both inside and outside the boundary of Can Tho, and at the same time, detailing activities and integrated solutions to reduce and control emissions in the city. It aims to provide direction and plans to regulators and stakeholders to improve air quality. Proposals have already been put forward to increase the use of public transport to replace motorbikes and private cars. The banning of post-harvest straw burning in the surrounding countryside is also being considered. The specific solutions of this plan not only improve the air quality in the city but also ensure the principle of win-win in dealing with climate change

Also under consideration are plans for industrial parks to be located far from the city centre and priority for green industry development. In terms of construction, regular checks are to be made to ensure safety and the avoidance of spreading dust and waste into the environment. The city is developing a strategic plan on air monitoring whilst building a complete database on air quality in the area. At the same time, to expand the automatic monitoring stations, especially in places with dense population, industrial parks and main road intersections.