Light pollution is becoming a serious problem in Ho Chi Minh City, but the issue has not attracted much attention so far. The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that light pollution can have adverse health effects such as vision disorders, headaches, dizziness, insomnia and depression.

An official from the Ho Chi Minh City's Energy Saving Center said that according to a survey by his Center, the lighting system in the Ho Chi Minh City has poor as well as uneven quality. While small alleys are poorly lit, many larger streets are lined with high-capacity lamps, resulting in not only light pollution but also energy wastefulness. Excessive street lighting can also dazzle drivers, causing traffic accidents. The installation of street lamps is also a problematic issue to poses problems. Many lamps, instead of lighting roads, peek into nearby houses, or are even turned upward towards the sky.
Other light pollution sources, includes lighting from the numerous advertisement billboards. Hundreds of such boards at major crossings such as the Phu Dong Thien Vuong, Hang Xanh, Dien Bien Phu and Dan Chu are lit by strong lights at various angles.

Nguyen Hoang Minh Vu, a lecturer in the Ho Chi Minh City Architecture University, said that in addition to its adverse effects on human health, as the WHO has warned, artificial lighting also seriously affects nature. Scientists have discovered that even a weak advertising light can kill 350,000 insects a year. In the long term, light pollution will possibly have dangerous effects on ecological diversity.

Source: VNA, Jan. 19, 2007