The National Hydrology Meteorological Forecast Center yesterday issued early severe weather alerts for the whole country in October.

Experts have voiced concern over a ministry proposal to destroy imported scrap that does not meet environmental standards if shipping lines fail to ship it back to the country of origin within 30 days.

The Vietnam Environment Administration has advised members of the public, especially children, the elderly, pregnant women and those with respiratory diseases,  to limit outdoor activities due to rising pollution.

Hanoi is promptly taking actions to improve air quality which has been assessed as very low for the past two weeks, according to municipal authorities.

The World Health Organization (WHO)’s findings have shown that air pollution is responsible for approximately 60,000 deaths in Vietnam.

Post-harvest straw burning at Hanoi’s suburban areas has worsened the air pollution in the city which has reached alarming levels in recent days.

In the wake of the complicated development of riverside and coastal landslides, many experts argue that if sand exploitation is an option, the Mekong Delta must be “sacrificed”.

More than 2,000 people engaged in a programme to clean beaches in Da Nang on September 28.

Up to roughly two tonnes of fish have been found dead at a beach in the central province of Ha Tinh.

Authorities in Lam Dong Province are investigating the destruction of a pine forest in the area after various violations were found in community-based forest management.

The capital of Hanoi was named as the most polluted city in the world on September 26, with the southern largest economic hub of Ho Chi Minh City not far behind.

A sugarcane producer in the Mekong Delta province of Hau Giang has been ordered to pay VND700 million (US$30,000) in fines for causing pollution in a local river.

Hanoi and HCM City have been named among the top three cities with the most serious air pollution in the world according to the air quality index (AQI) ranking by Air Visual.

Cao Trung Son, director of the Centre for Natural Resources and Environment Monitoring (under the HCM Department of Natural Resources and Environment), on Tuesday spoke at a press conference about air pollution in the city. 

Waste-to-energy technology is a feasible solution for the solid waste crisis in Vietnam's major cities, local authorities have said.

Cost and technology are the top concerns for shrimp farmers when investing in renewable energy, Tran Van Dau, a farmer in Ca Mau Province, said.

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment has warned that northern localities are facing water shortages as reservoirs are drying up.

Meteorologists are debating the cause of the thick fog that has blanketed HCM City and some southern provinces in recent days, which has triggered concerns of residents about worsening air quality.

Vietnamese PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc has joined other leaders around the globe in voicing their support for an emergency declaration for nature and people ahead of the 74th session of the UN General Assembly this September.

There are about 20,000 households living along HCM City's canals and channels. The wastewater is discharged directly into the environment and causes severe pollution in Vietnam’s most populous city.