In The Air is a micro investigation of the composition of air in Hanoi as inhaled by humans, conducted by studying dirt particles that are trapped in dried nasal mucus. The number of people falling ill with respiratory problems in the capital city of Vietnam has significantly risen in recent years. On 5 October 2016, Hanoi was reported to have been the second-most polluted city in the world. On 9 December 2016, Hanoi’s air quality readings reached 343μg/m3, which was considered to be at “hazardous levels” and was even higher than that of Beijing, China. A few months later, in February 2017, Vietnam’s air pollution was found to be the second-deadliest in Southeast Asia (after Indonesia) in terms of the number of premature deaths that were directly linked to the problem. Up till today, the city is struggling to reduce the amount of harmful pollutants released from its heavy vehicle traffic and industrial activities, especially the use of coal-fired power plants that are considered to be the main contributor to the city’s smog. 

​