The 11th air quality monitoring station of Hanoi was inaugurated at the French Embassy on July 16.

Heavy downpours in the northern mountainous province of Cao Bang from July 13 night to the next day submerged 918 local houses, said the office of the provincial steering committee on disaster response, search and rescue.

Urban heat islands in Ho Chi Minh City and other large cities in Vietnam are causing heat waves with some of the highest recorded temperatures ever in the country, affecting public health.

The central province of Quang Tri plans to have at least 60,000 hectares of forests certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) in the next 10 years, tripling the current FSC area.

Natural disasters have taken a heavy toll on the north-central province of Thanh Hoa over recent years. To be more resilient to the disasters this year, the province has been repairing and upgrading dykes and other irrigation systems as the rainy season is just around the corner.

A ceremony has been held in Lac Duong district, the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong to launch a campaign to plant 1,000 cherry-like apricot trees in Lang Biang plateau.

The Vietnam Tourism Association and its chapters in the northern mountainous provinces of Phu Tho, Hoa Binh and Son La provinces are scheduled to launch an anti-plastic-waste action programme from July 15 to 17.

The Cham Islands’ Marine Protected Area (MPA) management board, in cooperation with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), has launched a new garbage sorting programme as part of efforts to reduce plastic waste in Vietnam.

Forest rangers of the Con Dao National Park in the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau, on July 4, rescued a rare sea turtle trapped by plastic waste in the park’s conserved sea area.

Typhoon Mun, the second arising in the East Sea so far this year, made landfall in localities from Hai Phong to Nam Dinh in early July 4, with a wind speed of 62-88 km/h.

Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung has sent a public dispatch to 28 northern and north-central provinces and centrally-run cities as well as relevant agencies urging them to get ready for the upcoming typhoon Mun.

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Xuan Cuong has asked localities from Quang Ninh to Ninh Binh to prepare for Typhoon Mun, the second arising in the East Sea that is forecast to make landfall on early July 4.

Two elephants have been released back to the wild in the Yok Don National Park in the Central Highlands province of Dak Lak.

The central province of Thua Thien – Hue is giving priority to green energy projects, especially solar power.

Fifteen forest fires were recorded from June 26-30, ravaging over 100 ha of forest, according to the Vietnam Administration of Forestry under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD)

Forest fires broke out in several locations in the central province of Ha Tinh on June 30, according to local authorities.

A conference on how to enhance cooperation in protecting the Mekong River via smarter water energy planning approaches and wide application of renewable energy throughout the Mekong region was held in Hanoi on June 28.

More than 1,000 trees of five species of native timber trees and wild plants have been planted on 20,000sq.m in the Dong Nai World Biosphere Reserve as part of an effort to improve the habitats of elephants and other wildlife.

The capital city of Hanoi wants to be rid of all plastic and nylon bags in traditional markets by next year.

A Vietnam – Republic of Korea (RoK) forum in Hanoi on June 28 highlighted businesses’ role in environmental protection amidst the Fourth Industrial Revolution (Industry 4.0).