HCM City (VNA) - People living in HCM City are suffering fromphotochemical smog, a kind of air pollution that’s harmful to human health.

Photochemical smog is caused by the interaction of solar ultraviolet radiation,engine exhaust emissions and industrial emissions.

It has become a frequent phenomenon in recent years, especially during the hotand dry summer months. Photochemical smog is widespread in large cities such asHanoi and HCM City, posing increasingly serious risks to public health.

The Centre for Environmental and Natural Resources Monitoring in HCM City haswarned people, especially children, pregnant women and elderly, against goingout. The department has recommended the use of masks and glasses to cover theface, especially eyes.

The phenomenon of photochemical smog is said to be cyclical, directly affectinghealth and quality of life. It is attributed to high urban density and trafficcongestion. To make matter worse, HCM City residents have been inhalingpolluted air from industrial parks located in the two neighbouring provinces ofDong Nai and Binh Duong.

Photochemical smog is a common phenomenon in traffic hot spots in HCM Citywhere the level of air pollution exceeds the permissible limit.

According to a report of the centre, the concentration of air pollution hasexceeded the permitted level in major traffic points in HCM City in recentdays, such as Cat Lai Port, An Suong intersection, Go Vap area, Dinh Tien Hoangand Dien Bien Phu streets.

The most polluted area is An Suong where dust concentration has exceeded 97 percentand noise levels have exceeded 100 percent against the permissible level. Smokefrom cars and motorcycles caught in traffic is one of the major causes of airpollution.

Last year, HCM City had some 10 million kinds of transport vehicles, andapproximately two million vehicles were used for commuting from provinces tocities. Non-maintenance of many old vehicles is also one of the causes ofexcessive air pollution.

Ho Quoc Bang, head of air pollution and climate change office at the Vietnam NationalUniversity-HCM City’s Institute for Environment and Natural Resources, said airpollution was a problem in the city all through the year.

The levels of air pollution exceeded regulations on synthetic dust by 1.5-2.2times. This was affecting millions of people, but they were not aware.

The City People’s Committee has approved investment for expanding the networkof air monitoring stations from 20 to 34 and for building more such automatedstations.

A leader of the city Department of Natural Resources and Environment said to controlair pollution in the city, the department was examining the sources of exhaustgases in industrial parks. They also proposed to the city authorities to investin increasing the green cover of the city.-VNA