Is Hanoi Heading Towards "Airpocalypse"?
People are flocking to city centers all over the world, in search of better jobs in urban environments. For the people who design the roads and buildings in cities this requires significant planning. Without planning for the future, expensive mistakes can deter growth and have negative impact on housing, sanitation, education, and employment. A city's narrow streets and high tax on cars leads to an increased number of motorbike owners. This has recently led to pollution becoming dangerous to people’s health.
Emissions of all types are found in many city's air, including fine particles which lead to a large number of deaths per year. Particles (PM) as small as 2.5 micrometers lodge deep in our lungs, clogging arteries, making it harder to breathe. This irreversible effect is the reason scientists have been studying how safe it is to live in such an environment.
For example in Vietnam, it has been reported that 70% of Hanoi’s air pollution comes from the endless stream of traffic, reported by Vietnam’s Center for Environmental Monitoring. Hanoi was once a capital filled with bicycles, and only in the 1990's, motorbikes were introduced. Now almost everybody has a motorcycle, and more people are moving into the city, as Hanoi grows larger. Construction needs to meet the demand of more citizens, and thus large apartment buildings are finding their place.
Official data shows that there are now "5.3 million motorbikes and 560,000 cars in Hanoi, with figures set to increase at 11% every year for motorcycles and 17% for cars". Khuat Viet Hung, vice chairman of the National Traffic Safety Committee said that around 44,000 people a year die from air pollution and related illnesses.
As the government attempts to build infrastructure to support the growth, more an more motorbikes are being bought. A new railway with 8 lines is due in Hanoi by 2020, which is grinding along slowly, leaving less space for motor vehicles to get by, causing ever worsening traffic congestion. “Frequent and prolonged traffic congestion is the main contributor to the increasing air pollution level," said Professor Le Huy Ba, head of the Institute for Science, Technology and Environment Management under HCMC’s University of Industry. This is followed by powerplant's
Can Hanoi curb the emissions by strict regulation of environment effecting discharge coming out of industries, while regulating growing traffic concerns as well?
What do you think?
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Sources
Yeh, Ray. 19 Apr 2016. Web. http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asiapacific/airpocalypse-soon-hanoi/2707674.html