Motorcycle smoke is poisoning Asia

The rapid increase in motorcycles in the streets is the main cause of serious air pollution in major cities in Asia, including Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, threatening health and quality. life quality of people.

That is a warning from the ' Air Pollution in Asian Cities ' study by the UN Environment Program (UNEP) in collaboration with a number of environmental organizations on December 13.

Pollution and dust in Beijing, China.(Photo: Reuters)

Researchers have confirmed that concentration of PM10 chemicals (extremely harmful to human health and life) produced from motorbike smoke has increased to ' serious ' levels in the air in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Jakarta, Beijing . At the same time, NO ₂ and other emissions are also increasing rapidly along with the increase in the number of motorcycles.

Among the 22 cities surveyed, UNEP ranked HCMC in an urban group with ' average ' air quality management capacity due to efforts to reduce SO ₂ emissions. Meanwhile, Hanoi capital falls into an urban group with 'limited' capacity and needs to improve air quality management capacity as well as continue to reduce emissions.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), air pollution is the culprit that kills nearly 600,000 people in Asia every year. Dr. Dieter Schwela, co-author of the study, identified polluted cities like Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City to study the air and environmental quality management model of Tokyo or Hong Kong. The study also offers a number of measures to improve air quality, including the application of more stringent air emissions and air quality standards, the use of clean fuels .

HIEU TRUNG