Hanoi Declared World's Most Polluted City, Authorities Seek Action

Residential buildings are shrouded behind heavy air pollution in Hanoi on January 3, 2025. (Photo by Nhac NGUYEN / AFP)
Residential buildings are shrouded behind heavy air pollution in Hanoi on January 3, 2025. (Photo by Nhac NGUYEN / AFP)
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Hanoi Declared World's Most Polluted City, Authorities Seek Action

Residential buildings are shrouded behind heavy air pollution in Hanoi on January 3, 2025. (Photo by Nhac NGUYEN / AFP)
Residential buildings are shrouded behind heavy air pollution in Hanoi on January 3, 2025. (Photo by Nhac NGUYEN / AFP)

Vietnam's capital Hanoi has been covered in thick smog over recent weeks, putting it at the top of a list of the world's most polluted cities, as the government said it would push for more electric vehicles (EVs) to alleviate the problem.
Levels of hazardous small particles, known as PM2.5, were measured at 266 micrograms per cubic meter in Hanoi early on Friday, the highest reading among a list of most-polluted cities, according to AirVisual, which provides independent global air pollution information via a phone app.
The Southeast Asian country, a regional manufacturing hub with one of the fastest-growing economies in Asia, has reported severe air pollution in its major cities for years, particularly in Hanoi, Reuters said.
The thick smog is mostly caused by heavy traffic, trash burning and industrial activities.
"We the elderly can feel it very clearly when we suffer from respiratory problems that lead to breathing difficulties," Luu Minh Duc, a 64-year-old resident of the city, said. "The situation seems to get worse recently."
Young people are also complaining.
"At first I thought it was foggy ... but later I found out that it is actually fine dusts that reduce my vision and make me feel like it is not healthy to breathe," said 21-year-old student Nguyen Ninh Huong.
Speaking at a meeting with the transport ministry on Thursday, Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha called for an accelerated transition to electric vehicles (EVs) as part of the efforts to reduce pollution, state media reported.
So far Hanoi has a target for at least 50% of buses and 100% of taxis to be EVs by 2030.
"This is the responsibility of the state to the people, and there must be specific and timely actions," Ha was quoted as saying by the Tien Phong newspaper.
The ministries of natural resources, environment and health did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment.



70 South African White Rhinos Relocated to Rwanda

 White rhinos have been the targets of a poaching epidemic that has largely wiped them out. (AFP)
White rhinos have been the targets of a poaching epidemic that has largely wiped them out. (AFP)
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70 South African White Rhinos Relocated to Rwanda

 White rhinos have been the targets of a poaching epidemic that has largely wiped them out. (AFP)
White rhinos have been the targets of a poaching epidemic that has largely wiped them out. (AFP)

Rwanda said on Tuesday that 70 white rhinos had been successfully relocated to the Great Lakes nation after a two-day journey of some 3,000 kilometers (over 1,800 miles) from South Africa.

It was the largest ever relocation of rhinos, which can weigh up to two tons, Rwandan officials said.

Once abundant across sub-Saharan Africa, rhino numbers have dramatically fallen due to hunting by European colonizers and large-scale poaching.

The animals were transported in two loads of 35 -- first aboard a Boeing 747, then by road -- from South Africa's Munywana Conservancy to Akagera National Park in Rwanda, or about 3,000 kilometers as the crow flies, according to the Rwanda Development Board (RDB).

A "dedicated veterinary team will closely monitor their health and behavior for several weeks to ensure proper adaptation to their new environment and management of any stress associated with the move", it said in a statement.

The move was part of African Parks' Rhino Rewild Initiative, supported by The Howard G. Buffett Foundation, and aims to support population growth and secure a new breeding stronghold in Rwanda.

According to the International Rhino Foundation (IRF), rhino poaching in Africa rose by four percent from 2022 to 2023, with at least 586 rhinos poached in 2023.

The southern white rhino, one of two subspecies, is now listed as "near threatened", with roughly 17,000 individuals remaining, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

The northern white rhino has all but vanished, with only two females left alive.