The annual study that uses satellite data to measure air pollution concentrations has been conducted by researchers at Yale and Columbia universities.

Of 132 countries whose environments were surveyed in relation to effects on human health, Vietnam places 123^rd in the air category, 80^th in the water category and 79^th in addressing pollution control and natural resource management challenges.

Professor Pham Ngoc Dang, chairman of the Vietnam Environmental Construction Association said air in most urban areas was filled with dust, especially in traffic junctions, construction sites and industrial parks.

According to experts, air pollution will seriously affect people’s health, causing diseases related to the respiratory system, eyes, ears and skin.

The United States places 49^th in the 2012 EPI, significantly behind other industrialized nations, including France (6^th), the United Kingdom (9^th), Germany (11^th) and Japan (23^rd).

Switzerland leads the world in addressing pollution control.