Air Quality in Hanoi

[Ethan]

For the best part of the past two years, I’ve been living in Vietnam. While most of my time is spent in south and central Vietnam, I have recently been in Hanoi for a couple of months and the air quality has been a consistent issue. While other cities in Vietnam have air quality issues, none of them can compare to Hanoi which was near the top of IQAir’s most polluted cities charts earlier this week (and in the first position for a few days). Below is a screenshot that I took last week.

I was aware of the air quality issue here, especially after writing my post on air pollution in Vietnam (which you can find below) and after visiting the city a few times. However, during this longer stay, I’ve come to realise just how serious the issue is. At least for me personally, it’s the key reason why I could never stay here longer term despite loving the city.

Air Pollution in Vietnam: Understanding the Scope, Seasonality, and Solutions

Anyway, as an update to the article linked above, I wanted to share a few photos of the air quality that I’ve taken on my stays in Hanoi. All of these photos were taken in the months of January - April, when the air quality is generally the worst, so please keep in mind that it isn’t always like this!

AQICN actually shows the air quality as being quite good during the summer months, but unfortunately, I haven’t yet had a chance to visit the city during this time. I’ll have to aim to visit in June-August next time!

Below are a couple of photos I took during Tet last year. I find these particularly impactful as the vehicle headlights can be seen showing the extent of the harmful air pollution.

Needless to say, if you’re visiting Hanoi during the winter or spring months you will absolutely want to be prepared with decent respirators. These tend to be quite hard to find in Vietnam, so I would recommend bringing some with you before visiting. If you live here, you can find authentic 3M respirators on Lazada and other platforms, just make sure to shop from the official stores.

I’ve been trying to do some air quality monitoring myself, with my AirGradient Max (which you can learn more about below), but I’m still getting the hang of powering the device. However, I remain positive that I will have some more thoughts and insights to share soon. Hopefully some more pictures, too!

AirGradient Open Air Max Released

I’ve had my AirGradient Open Air Max set up for around one week now and I have a few more thoughts and findings to share. I opted to change the batteries on my Max and went out to purchase a set of three 18650 batteries. I opted for 3x Panasonic 3500mAh batteries as their price was reasonable and Panasonic is generally a reputable brand. Unfortunately, after getting them home, I realised that the Open Air Max only has space for unprotected 18650 batteries. While the protected 18650s can be forc…

Please note that this post is not intended dissuade anyone from visiting or living in Hanoi - it’s actually a city that I love a lot. However, it is something that you should be aware of. Luckily, there is a lot more attention on air pollution here recently, and hopefully some policy changes will begin to gradually improve the situation.

If you have any questions about the situation, please feel free to ask and I will do my best to answer!

[Ethan]

The day after publishing the post above, I went outside and noticed the taste of the air instantly. I pulled out my phone to check the rankings, and Hanoi had again retaken the top spot on IQAir’s Most Polluted Cities list.

The impact of the air pollution was quite obvious as soon as we stepped outside as you could not only taste it, but feel the dust in your throat. Definitely a reason to bring some respirators with you to Hanoi if you visit in winter or spring.

[Ethan]

The other day we went to the Old Quarter (to see the famous train street) and I thought I would take my Atmotube Pro, a portable air quality monitor. Below are my results (please note these are shown using the Atmo AQI, which is a bit confusing as it can be quite lenient).

As you can see, on this particular evening, the air quality was actually quite okay. While the PM2.5 concentration was still above the EPA 24-hour exposure guidelines, it was a much better day to be out and about than the days I’ve previously discussed here. While there were a few drops in air quality during our exploration, these were usually due to passing street vendors or busy streets where, as expected, the PM concentrations were higher.

While these levels were still not fantastic, I wanted to share them as they show that the air quality in Hanoi is not always terrible. As per the AQICN historical data, we should continue to see the air quality get better as we head into the summer months.

Unfortunately, today, the air quality is far from great again. However, it’s important to note that this is a much bigger issue in the winter and spring months and that air quality does improve towards summer.