Vietnam's capital is deeply engulfed in heavy smog, with the government urging factories to reduce production.

In recent days, the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi has been continuously plagued by heavy smog. Data from the air pollution information app AirVisual shows that on December 11th at noon, Hanoi's air quality index reached 243, ranking it as the fourth most polluted city in the world. If converted to PM2.5 concentration, the level of air pollution in Hanoi may be 50 times higher than the World Health Organization's recommended standard of 5 micrograms per cubic meter. This week, the city has also topped the list of the world's most polluted cities multiple times. In response to the pollution, the Vietnamese Ministry of Health has urged power, steel, and chemical factories to reduce production earlier this week. Hanoi will also implement a ban on gasoline motorcycles in certain areas of the city center starting in mid-2026, and will gradually expand the ban to include fuel-powered cars thereafter.