Buzz
To determine the Air Quality Index (AQI) in your area, experts require sophisticated measuring tools and high-tech tests. But what about ordinary citizens like us?
Guide to measuring air pollution levels.
Note: These indicators are continuously updated within 48 hours.
Step 1: Click Here to access the EPA website, by default the website will be in English. To choose the Vietnamese interface or other languages, click on the country icon -> and select your language.
Right on the main interface, you will see a report from Beijing, China, which is currently the place with the highest air pollution levels in the world, AQI 162.
Step 2: Click on 'Identify the location of cities near you' or 'Search for your city' to search for your location.
Step 6: Additionally, you can click on other tabs to check the air quality at these locations like Da Nang.
Scoring 76 points, the air quality is fairly good.
Step 7: Alternatively, click on the search icon, type the city name without accents to select and view.
Step 8: In Ho Chi Minh City, it scored 57 points, only half compared to the pollution level in Hanoi.
Ho Chi Minh City scores only half as much as Hanoi.
Observations
With the advancement of technology, this issue has become quite simple nowadays, just by accessing a website, you can know the Air Quality Index (AQI) in the city you are living in anywhere in the world.
* From the beginning until now, you have seen me always mention the Air Quality Index (AQI), let me briefly explain AQI for you to understand.
- AQI, in simple terms, is a daily measure of air quality where you live.
- AQI focuses solely on issues affecting human health occurring within a few hours or days after breathing polluted air.
- AQI is evaluated on 5 main pollution factors in clean air laws: Ozone in the stratosphere, particle pollution, CO, SO2, and No2.
Currently, the AQI is divided into 6 levels, created by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and adopted worldwide. Among the 5 pollution factors mentioned earlier, 2 adversely affect human health: stratospheric ozone and airborne particles. AQI is assessed from 0-500, and the higher the score, the greater the impact on your health. You can refer to the table below to learn more about AQI.
Above is the table of the AQI air quality index that we can refer to before proceeding to measure.
With AQI reaching 0-50 (Good Level): Air quality is good, health is not threatened, and there are no environmental impacts.
With AQI ranging from 51-100 (Moderate Level): Air quality is acceptable but may pose a risk to sensitive groups, such as those with respiratory conditions or allergies.
With AQI ranging from 101-150 (Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups Level): This group includes the elderly, young children, and individuals with lung diseases or respiratory issues, who are most affected.
With AQI ranging from 150-200 (Unhealthy Level): This is a high level, indicating significant environmental pollution and surrounding impacts, adversely affecting human health.
With AQI ranging from 201-300 (Very Unhealthy Level): This is a severe warning level for community health, with heavy environmental pollution and high risks of illness.
For AQI reaching 301-500 (Dangerous Level): If your environment reaches this level, it's best to relocate, as the living environment is severely threatened, pollution levels are at their highest, and you'll suffer from a host of illnesses in a short period of time.
Above is the method for measuring air pollution index in Hanoi as well as neighboring areas, you can apply it to check the area around you. From the report above, we can see that the pollution level in Hanoi, although the index may not significantly affect the community, truly demands our attention. Hopefully, there will be measures to improve the living environment, avoiding cases like Beijing, the most polluted capital in the world.
As for our advice, in times like these, you should equip yourself with necessary tools to protect yourself when going out, such as medical masks. Moreover, if you often sit at the computer, you should also install a Weather Forecast Gadget on your desktop. Information about temperature, humidity will appear on your computer screen after successfully displaying the Weather Forecast Gadget on your computer screen.
