Morning news 16-1: West Lake area has the most polluted air in Hanoi; Proposal to increase fines for food violations

Notable news: West Lake area tops air pollution in Hanoi; Proposal to increase fines for food safety violations; Many activities to support patients during Tet.

Tin tức sáng 16-1: Khu vực Hồ Tây ô nhiễm không khí nhất Hà Nội; Đề nghị tăng phạt vi phạm thực phẩm - Ảnh 1. — Hanoi's sky is cloudy due to air pollution, many high-rise buildings are blurred not by fog but by dust - Photo: DANH KHANG

West Lake area has the most polluted air in Hanoi

Hanoi has been continuously suffering from severe air pollution for many days. Typically, at around 8am on January 7, the air quality index application ranked Hanoi as the most polluted city in the world with AQI at 272 - the purple level, very harmful to human health.

Notably, in recent days, the West Lake area has been at the top of the pollution scale: To Ngoc Van street level 416, Ciputra 408, Quang Khanh 372, Quang Ba 320... These are all pollution indexes at the brown threshold - a level that is harmful to human health.

Other areas recorded AQI at purple threshold such as: Tu Hoa (Tay Ho) 256, Le Duan (Hoan Kiem) 256, Lo Duc (Hai Ba Trung) 270, Tran Hung Dao (Hoan Kiem) 233...

According to data from VN AIR of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and moitruongthudo.vn of the Hanoi Department of Natural Resources and Environment, air quality in the capital is often at a poor and bad level, especially during the period from September of the previous year to March of the following year.

The average daily and annual concentrations of PM10 and PM2.5 dust in Hanoi exceeded the recommendations of the World Health Organization many times; at the same time, local pollution of NO2 and O3 gases was also recorded. Of which, fine dust pollution was recorded in most districts; especially in inner-city districts with high population density and traffic activities.

Health experts warn that air pollution in Hanoi is not only a short-term threat but also a long-term risk to public health. Long-term exposure to PM2.5 fine dust can cause many dangerous diseases such as pneumonia, bronchitis, asthma and lung cancer. In addition, fine dust is also the cause of impaired cardiovascular function, increasing the risk of stroke and vascular diseases.

Currently, transportation is the largest source of fine dust emissions, accounting for 50 - 70% of PM2.5 emissions. Old vehicles that do not meet emission standards are still widely in operation, causing an increase in toxic emissions.

In addition, the city also faces emission sources from more than 17 industrial parks, about 1,300 craft villages and spontaneous garbage burning in the suburbs.

Proposal to increase fines for food safety violations

The Government Office issued Notice No. 20 dated January 15, concluding the conclusion of Deputy Prime Minister Le Thanh Long at the meeting of the Central Inter-sectoral Steering Committee on food safety.

The Deputy Prime Minister assigned the Ministry of Health to preside over and coordinate with the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Public Security, relevant ministries and agencies to review and study and report to the Prime Minister on increasing the level of sanctions for food safety violations, to be completed in the first quarter of 2025; coordinate with the Ministry of Justice to study and amend the authority to sanction administrative violations of food safety for positions not yet specified in the Law on Handling of Administrative Violations.

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Regarding database development and digital transformation: The Ministry of Health shall preside over and coordinate with relevant ministries and agencies to prepare a detailed report and specific proposals on the development, management and operation of the food safety database; organize a separate meeting of the Central Interdisciplinary Steering Committee to give opinions on this issue, especially on the connection, management, exploitation and use of the food safety database.

Regarding the 2025 mission orientation, ministries, agencies and localities are required to:

1. Focus more on prevention work; strengthen inspection, supervision and strictly handle violations;

2. Proactively improve the effectiveness of inter-sectoral coordination, in which the health sector is the key, with the participation of the agricultural, industrial and commercial sectors, and the police;

3. More comprehensive propaganda, focusing on propaganda on deterrent sanctions for food safety violations.

The Deputy Prime Minister also requested the Ministry of Health to urgently develop the Food Safety Law Project after the proposal is approved, ensuring the progress of submitting it to the National Assembly for comments and approval in 2025, focusing on important contents such as defining tasks and management authority;

Apply information technology and digital transformation; submit to the Government amendments to Decree No. 15/2018 in the first quarter of 2025 to immediately handle urgent problems and shortcomings in practice.

Tin tức sáng 16-1: Khu vực Hồ Tây ô nhiễm không khí nhất Hà Nội; Đề nghị tăng phạt vi phạm thực phẩm - Ảnh 2. — Doctors and patients have New Year's Eve dinner together - Photo: THAI HA

Many activities to support patients during Tet

According to Mr. Le Van Quang, Director of K Hospital, this year's Tet holiday, the hospital will continue to organize the "Love Bus Trip" to take patients being treated at the hospital home for Tet. This is an annual activity that has been held for nearly 10 years at K Hospital to reduce the difficulty of traveling during Tet for thousands of patients being treated at the hospital.

In addition, from January 13, the 14th of the 12th lunar month, the hospital will start organizing the program "Loving Tet - Family Meal" at the hospital's second facility in Tam Hiep (Thanh Tri district), and in the coming days it will be organized at the third facility in Tan Trieu (Hoang Mai district)...

For over 2 years, thanks to the support of Ben Tre Renewable Energy Joint Stock Company, the hospital has been able to operate a free canteen, providing hundreds of meals every day for patients treated at Tam Hiep facility.

On this occasion, Bach Mai Hospital also organized a Tet fair with many booths displayed right on the hospital grounds. This is the second year Bach Mai has organized this activity to provide "spiritual food" for patients and doctors and to call for support for patients during Tet.