The Department of Natural Resources and Environment was asked to operate and maintain the air monitoring system closely and regularly submit reports and publish the data from the city's system and some of the embassies in Hanoi in the media and on the department's website.

If the air quality index is over 300, the department must notify the Department of Education and Training to let nursery and primary pupils stay home. The Department of Health must also have preventive plans to ensure citizens' health.

On days that air quality is deemed bad and worse, the Ministry of Construction must ask urban environment companies to send more dust vacuum machines and watering trucks to damp the streets. The police will send more employees to regulate the traffic. Trucks weigh over 1.5 tonnes will only be allowed to enter the city via the ring road 3 from 10 pm to 6 am.

The Department of Natural Resources and Environment, Department of Information and Communication, Department of Culture and Sports, district and communal people's committees to call for the people to stop burning straw, rubbish and other agricultural by-products after harvesting. The authorities also ban the use of honeycomb briquette stoves and asked the locals to limit burning incense or offerings activities.

The police in Hanoi will inspect construction trucks that do not cover up properly and let materials fall on the streets. Violators may have their trucks seized and fined. Authorities must quickly propose solutions and allocate fund to water the streets.

Tien Phong/Dtinews

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