People wear protective masks while riding on a street in Hanoi, Vietnam. Photo by Reuters

Hanoi has seen air quality improve over the past year but it remains one of Southeast Asia’s most polluted cities.

The city’s average PM2.5 level last year was 40.8 micrograms per cubic meter of air as opposed to 45.8 in 2017, according to Switzerland-based air quality monitor IQAir AirVisual's 2018 World Air Quality Report.

IQAir AirVisual, which generated data from public, ground-based and real-time monitoring stations, surveyed air quality in over 3,000 cities globally by measuring PM2.5 levels, referring to particulate matter of up to 2.5 microns in size, regarded as the pollutant with the most health impact.

But the Vietnamese capital remained among the most polluted capital cities in the world, ranked the 12th worst in the list of 62.

In Southeast Asia, Hanoi was the second most polluted city behind Jakarta, Indonesia, which had a PM2.5 level of 45.3.

PM2.5, also described as super fine particles, is a fraction of the width of a human hair, which is released from vehicles, industry and natural sources like dust. The World Health Organization (WHO) Air Quality Guideline recommends an annual mean exposure threshold of 10 μg/m3 to minimize health risks.

But 64 percent of the cities surveyed exceeded this guideline. In Southeast Asia, the rate was 95 percent.

Saigon’s air quality worsened during last year to 26.9 from 23.6 in 2017. The southern Vietnamese metro was the 15th most polluted city in Southeast Asia.

The top 15 most polluted cities in Southeast Asia, with Hanoi ranked second and Ho Chi Minh City ranked 15th. Photo screenshot from IQAir AirVisuals 2018 World Air Quality Report.

Vietnam ranked 17th globally and second in Southeast Asia with an average PM2.5 level of 32.9.

The report blamed pollution in Southeast Asia on the burning of biomass and vehicular emissions.

In urban areas, there is a strong correlation between transportation and industry and air pollution, it said.

Hanoi in particular, which has 7.7 million people, has more than five million motorbikes and 550,000 cars.

The city chairman, warned that air pollution had reached the level of "red alert", and blamed it mainly on vehicles.

The report said governments should increase the number of air quality monitoring stations to generate more public data, while the average citizen should make lifestyle changes such as choosing environment-friendly modes of transport like cycling and walking and reduce household energy usage to combat pollution.

Protection of the health from pollutants is the paramount and top necessity for everyone living in Vietnam. Wearing a protective mask when going outside cannot fully be a barrier that will prevent hazardous chemicals from getting into the body.

In addition, air pollution is not the only issue that undermined our health. We are also exposed to extensive food contamination and drinking water pollution. The solution to ensure good health for you and your children is natural periodic body detoxification. Thus we should apply highly effective products that can eliminate toxic compound that accumulate in our blood, internal organs and bones.

It’s difficult to find a product that can cope with such a complicated task.

After careful work and research, The National Institute of Occupational and Environmental health of Vietnam initiated to bring and supported the spreading in Vietnam of a revolutionary product for natural body cleansing from Ukraine called PECTIN COMPLEX.

PECTIN COMPLEX is a 100% natural product for complex body detoxification on the cellular level that has a scientifically proven effect of effective elimination of chemical toxins of various origin from the body.

In Vietnam, PECTIN COMPLEX , a natural detox health supplement imported from Ukraine is the only one product that is recommended and used by the Ministry of health of Vietnam and the National Institute of Occupational and Environmental Health of Vietnam for the national program of support treatment of lead intoxication of children and adults living in populated areas of Vietnam like Hung Yen , Bac Ninh , Ninh Binh , Bac Can, Thai Nguyen and others.

Unlike other detox products, PECTIN COMPLEX is the only one natural supplement that has a scientifically proven effect of significant elimination of lead and other heavy metals from the body in a natural way. This product is absolutely safe and is officially approved for pregnant and breastfeeding women and children. It also strengthens the immune system and decreases the frequency of seasonal diseases in children.