Hanoi is choking on air pollution beyond the city limits

Hanoi attracts international attention as not only a charming cultural capital, but also one of the most polluted cities in the world. In late 2024, Andrew Goledzinowski, then Australian ambassador to Vietnam, wrote on his social media that he was cutting his Hanoi posting short for health reasons. Air pollution was the trigger, as his family’s medical condition left him with little choice.

Goledzinowski is not alone. Foreign professionals are increasingly declining attractive postings in Hanoi due to health concerns. Even domestic residents quietly weigh up the cost of staying in a city that ranks among the world’s most polluted capitals for much of the year.

The data backs them up. Hanoi’s fine particulate matter (PM2.5) levels — particles that can penetrate deep into the lungs — regularly exceed national safety thresholds. Between November and March, air pollution spikes due to temperature inversion and lower rainfall. Air pollution was classified as ‘unhealthy’ or worse for over half of 2023.

For many, clean air has become a luxury. Hanoi’s children are growing up breathing polluted air. The city’s working-age population is paying with hospital visits and diminished productivity.

The Vietnamese government is not standing still. It has announced an ambitious phase-out of internal combustion engine two-wheelers in Hanoi’s inner districts, starting in July 2026 and extending to all internal combustion engine vehicles by 2030. To help the switch, it plans to offer up to VND 5 million (US$190) in financial support per low-income person. Bans on charcoal stoves and open burning are also being rolled out.

While these are decisive steps, sizeable challenges loom. Limited public space, a large share of residents in high-rise blocks, and elevated fire risks from battery charging call for innovative solutions such as including charging docks for removable batteries.

Hanoi also needs more mass public transport apart from the two existing urban railways. Wider intermodal connections would encourage people to use public transport. A more compact urban form that reduces travel demand could further cut mobility-related air pollution.

Hanoi’s fight for clean air may not be won within city borders alone. Modelling suggests that about 40–65 per cent of PM2.5 in Hanoi originates outside the urban core, depending on season and method. The external sources include outdated industrial facilities, open agricultural burning, and Vietnam’s vast network of informal recycling villages.

Straw burning is one such example of non-urban pollution. After each rice harvest, especially in June and October, smoke from open-field burning of rice straw drifts into Hanoi, cloaking it in toxic smog. This single practice contributes over 10 per cent of the city’s PM2.5 burden. In total, agriculture — from ammonia emissions linked to excessive fertiliser use to methane from livestock and waste — accounts for about a fifth of Hanoi’s air pollution.

Then there are the recycling villages, hundreds of which exist, mostly in the Red River Delta surrounding Hanoi. Often family-run, these informal industries burn low-grade coal and use primitive technology. Because they are classified as traditional craft activities rather than formal industries, they fall into regulatory grey zones — hard to monitor, harder still to reform.

The power sector adds another layer to the pollution problem. While Vietnam’s revised Power Development Plan 8 sets ambitious targets for increasing solar and wind capacity by approximately three times compared with 2024 levels, coal still looms large in the short-term energy mix. Unless energy storage infrastructure is introduced soon to support the rapid uptake of solar and wind, cities like Hanoi will remain highly vulnerable to regional emissions.

Because air pollution does not respect administrative boundaries, a national approach is needed. That means expanding electric vehicles and air quality plans not just in Hanoi, but across the Red River Delta. It also means accelerating the carbon market introduction — now slated to roll out officially in 2029 — to make emissions count financially. And it means incentivising change where it is hardest — in the fields and recycling villages that have so far been left behind.

There is a path forward. New agricultural initiatives could explore how to reward rice farmers who adopt circular straw management, turning agricultural waste into energy pellets to be used in thermal power plants instead of burning it.

With Vietnam piloting its national carbon trading system between August 2025 and 2029, such approaches can enable farmers to sell verified carbon credits to domestic industries, earning incomes while reducing air pollution and meeting net-zero goals. It is a win-win — cleaner air for Hanoi and a fairer climate transition for rural communities.

As one of Vietnam’s close development partners, Australia has a role to play. Support for sustainable agriculture, renewable energy infrastructure, green battery technology, and urban planning can complement domestic reforms. Hanoi and Canberra could even partner in pilot clean-air cities. Australia’s experience in energy transition and sustainable agriculture can help Vietnam move faster and more fairly.

Air pollution is no longer just an environmental issue. It is a public health threat, a productivity hinderance and a reputational risk for Vietnam’s fast-growing economy. Without deeper reforms beyond Hanoi’s ring roads, clean air may remain out of reach. The moment demands coordinated national action and international cooperation. The future of Vietnam’s capital and the health of millions depends on it.

By Thang Nam Do – Eastasiaforum.org – September 17, 2025