An official from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment claims that while Hanoi faces air pollution, he couldn’t imagine it could be the second worst in the world.

Hoang Duong Tung, Head of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment's Environment Department, said Hanoi was experiencing a photochemical smog phenomenon caused by straw burning in the city's suburban areas. However, environmental monitoring stations showed that the city's air quality remained within permitted levels.

Tung made the statement following the widely spread news that the US Embassy in Hanoi had reported record-breaking air pollution.

The monitoring station at the embassy at No. 7 Lang Ha Street, Dong Da District, indicated that the Real-time Air Quality Index in Hanoi was at an alarming level of 245 on the morning of October 5. With the figure, Hanoi posted the second highest of all cities recorded the same morning and just behind India's Ardhali Bazar with 471.

According to Tung, Hanoi had the high dust content in the air, but couldn't be the second worst in the world. The embassy's monitoring station could only measure the city's air quality in a specific area within a short time; so it was impossible to use the figure of 245 as the conclusion for the whole city's pollution.