Vietnam Eyes Remote Work, Online Lessons As Air Quality Deteriorates

(Bloomberg) — Vietnam has proposed new measures to combat severe air pollution, including work-from-home measures for government employees and online courses for students, as it issues the highest level of red alert as it prepares for another winter of deteriorating air quality.

The new steps would apply in eight northern cities and provinces, including Hanoi, when a red alert is issued for an air quality index of 301 or higher, state media reported, citing a proposal by the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment.

Private motorbikes would be restricted, public transport fares could be waived. Authorities would issue pollution alerts at least three times a day and provide protective gear to workers outside and people in need. All classes will be switched online until the alert level is reduced or lifted.

Hanoi regularly ranks among the world’s most polluted cities during the winter months, when traffic emissions, industrial and construction dust, and agricultural burning trap pollutants. It creates thick smog and dangerously high levels of PM2.5 that pose a serious health risk to residents.

Air quality has also suffered across the region this year due to months of forest fires in Indonesia, with smoke drifting as far as Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines.

Air pollution is on the rise in Vietnam, with daily average PM2.5 often exceeding the national limit at monitoring stations in eight northern locations, which also include the port city of Haiphong and the industrial hub of Bac Ninh province, the ministry said.

Hanoi authorities have urged citizens to submit photos or videos of vehicles dumping dirt or causing heavy dust in an effort to track down the perpetrators. Last year, city officials urged residents with respiratory problems to stay indoors and implemented emergency measures, including remote monitoring systems, to address air pollution.

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