People in Hanoi are buying expensive masks to protect themselves from serious air pollution.

Over the last few days, the air quality in Hanoi has hit hazardous levels. The smog continues to blanket the capital, with AQI indicators soaring past safe levels and seeming to stay there.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Vietnam, in co-operation with Dak Lak Elephant Conservation Centre, plans to launch a GPS supervision project on wild elephant herds found in the province.

HCM City plans to conduct research and identify trees resilient to natural disasters and suited to the local soil.

The northern region of Vietnam has been predicted to experience a warmer winter this year, said an official from the National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting.

The rapid development of greenhouses for vegetable and flower cultivation in the last two decades has had a negative effect on the environment in the central resort city of Da Lat.

Six bears, that have shown signs of having sickness have been rescued at a farm in Binh Duong Province by the Austria-based Four Paws organisation.