‘Green ambassadors looking for clean air’ seminar held

The event was organised by the Centre for Living and Learning for Environment and Community (Live and Learn) in cooperation with the American Centre in Hanoi.

With an expert's perspective on the issue of air pollution and public health, Dr. Ly Bich Thuy, who is a lecturer and researcher at the Institute of Environmental Science and Technology, University of Science and Technology of Hanoi (USTH), said that according to the assessment results of Hanoi University of Science and Technology (HUST) on the variation of fine particulate matter (2.5 PM) concentration in a day conducted in 2017, it shows that the lowest dust concentration in a day is usually irregular, and is usually higher at night in winter days.

In addition, there are a number of other factors that affect the air quality due to gas emissions from cars, motorcycles, coal burning, and sulfur oil. In 2019, a survey by the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) showed that in Vietnam, the leading cause of disease is outdoor dust, which increases the risk of conditionssuch as blood pressure, stroke, and respiratory diseases.

At the seminar, participants also listened stories about ways to make the air cleaner through the initiative of students, youthsand local people. Notably, the lovely comic book with a lot of knowledge about air pollution is portrayed through the drawing and close narrative of the group of six kids at Alpha School. In addition, many environmental communication activities have been held by clubs under the Hanoi University of Public Health,such as the "New Year's Bookcase" event and the "Environmental ambassador” contest.