This paper reviews the state of air quality in Ho Chi Minh City as conducted by several organisations in recent years. A comparison of the air quality in HCM City with some other cities in the region is also made. It is shown that the air quality of both indoor and outdoor (ambient) has been deteriorated in recent years. This is mainly due to the increase in the usage of vehicles and an increasing number of industries in and around the city
Ho Chi Minh City is the largest city in Vietnam with a current (1995) population of about 5 millions and which is increasing rapidly due to internal migration and natural growth. The city covers an area of 2,056 km2, which is about 0.61% of the total country area and a population density of 2,338 persons/km2
The policy of Doi Moi, first introduced in 1986, has made a dramatic impact on the
reduction of poverty in Viet Nam. From a high of 70% in 1990, the poor, as a
percentage of the population, fell to 58% in 1993, 37% in 1998 and around 29% in
2002. Worldwide, the decade has also experienced a surge in hydrometeorological
natural disasters (floods, droughts, extreme temperature events and windstorms).
IPCC, 20001: “There is new and stronger evidence that most of the warming over the last 50 years is attributable to human activities”
The Zipingpu hydropower dam in Sichuan was built in 2002 and completed in 2008, soon after the reservoir was filled and put in operation, on May 12, 2008, a massive earthquake, magnitude 7.9 hit the region and reportedly killed 69,000 people, rendering anywhere from 4.8 to 111 people homeless.