Environment

Dense fog covered large parts of Ho Chi Minh City on the morning of December 17, with forecasters warning the phenomenon is likely to persist into the following day.

A farmer in Tay Ninh Province alerted local authorities after spotting a large, unusual bird landing in his rice field while he was working.

Authorities have inspected a wildlife breeding facility in Ho Chi Minh City, uncovering several endangered and rare animals being kept without proof of legal origin.

Northern and north-central Vietnam will see cold nights and early mornings with scattered rain in the coming days, as a stronger cold air mass is forecast to arrive later this week.

Three people have died after a landslide buried two road workers and a motorcyclist on National Highway 6 in Phu Tho Province, authorities said on December 15.

Temperature inversion combined with dust from construction, widespread waste burning and heavy traffic has pushed Hanoi’s air pollution to hazardous levels.

Ho Chi Minh City forest rangers and Nha Be police found 75 illegally kept South American iguanas at a house in Nha Be Commune on December 12.

A rare brown-headed eagle with an injured wing has been rescued by a local resident in the central province of Nghe An and handed over to authorities.

Three rare Burmese pythons, the largest weighing 37 kilogrammes, were found in the gardens of two households in the central province of Ha Tinh.

Chairman of the Hanoi People’s Committee Vu Dai Thang has ordered tougher measures to tackle worsening air pollution, including a halt to all road- and pavement-digging permits.

Hanoi remained the world’s most polluted city on the morning of December 11, with air quality index (AQI) readings reaching 244, classified as purple, a level considered very unhealthy.

Hanoi’s air quality remained at unhealthy to very unhealthy levels on Tuesday morning, ranking among the world’s most polluted cities as haze continued to blanket the capital.

Northern Vietnam is set to face a strong cold surge, with temperatures in Hanoi forecast to fall to around 10 degrees Celsius and many northern highland areas dropping below 9 degrees Celsius.

For over a year hundreds of households near the Ring Road 3 project in Ho Chi Minh City have endured thick dust, raising concerns over health and daily living conditions.

Cuc Phuong National Park has received 12 Javan pangolins rescued from an illegal wildlife trade case discovered in Cao Bang.

Ho Chi Minh City is forecast to face a high tide peak of 1.85m on December 6, raising the risk of deep flooding on many roads.

HCM City plans to establish Vietnam’s first large scale low emission zone in 2026 as it moves to curb vehicle pollution and push cleaner transport.

A tropical depression near the Philippines is expected to strengthen into Storm No.16 as it enters the East Sea and may strike Vietnam’s central and south-central coast.

Hanoi authorities have urged residents, especially the elderly, children and those with respiratory illnesses, to limit outdoor activity as the city suffers hazardous air quality.