北京再遇嚴(yán)重霧霾

Beijing’s infamous smog spiked on Sunday despite draconian measures in surrounding cities to reduce persistent pollution during the winter in northern China.

給北京帶來(lái)壞名聲的霧霾上周日卷土重來(lái)，盡管周邊城市采取了大刀闊斧的措施來(lái)減少中國(guó)北方冬季的持續(xù)污染。

The thick layer of haze has become a political liability for the ruling Communist party and has driven China’s participation in the Paris climate accord to limit emissions of carbon and other greenhouse gases.

重度霧霾已成為執(zhí)政的共產(chǎn)黨的非政治責(zé)任，并推動(dòng)中國(guó)參與巴黎氣候變化協(xié)定，限制二氧化碳和其他溫室氣體的排放。

An air monitor index released by the US embassy in Beijing breached 600 late on Saturday, a level referred to colloquially as “crazy bad” because index designers originally thought the city’s pollution would never reach beyond 500. The index has breached that level on multiple winters since the term was first used in 2010, forcing the embassy to adopt a more sober “hazardous”.

美國(guó)駐北京大使館發(fā)布的空氣監(jiān)測(cè)指數(shù)上周六晚突破600點(diǎn)，這個(gè)水平通常被稱為“糟糕得令人發(fā)瘋”，因?yàn)橹笖?shù)設(shè)計(jì)師最初認(rèn)為該市的污染不可能超過(guò)500點(diǎn)。自2010年首次使用這個(gè)表述以來(lái)，該指數(shù)已在多個(gè)冬季突破這一水平，迫使美國(guó)使館改用比較冷靜的“危險(xiǎn)”一詞。

The British School of Beijing cancelled a Christmas fair, even though it was scheduled to be held indoors. Air pollution has become such an obsession for foreigners living in Beijing that international schools compete on the quality of their indoor air.

北京英國(guó)學(xué)校(British School of Beijing)取消了一個(gè)圣誕活動(dòng)，即使這個(gè)活動(dòng)安排在室內(nèi)舉行?？諝馕廴疽呀?jīng)成為旅居北京的外國(guó)人如此在意的問(wèn)題，以至于國(guó)際學(xué)校在室內(nèi)空氣質(zhì)量上展開(kāi)競(jìng)爭(zhēng)。

The latest episode comes despite desperate measures. Beijing’s new mayor, Cai Qi, recently relaxed the city’s 2020 target for improved air quality, after his predecessor joked that his head was on the line if he failed to deliver his 2017 targets. Those 2017 targets are unlikely to be met.

最新的霧霾是在有關(guān)部門已經(jīng)采取一攬子不惜一切代價(jià)的措施的背景下降臨的。北京新市長(zhǎng)蔡奇最近放寬了該市2020年的改善空氣質(zhì)量目標(biāo)，此前他的前任曾開(kāi)玩笑說(shuō)，要是實(shí)現(xiàn)不了2017年空氣治理目標(biāo)就提頭來(lái)見(jiàn)。現(xiàn)在看來(lái)2017年的目標(biāo)不太可能實(shí)現(xiàn)。

“The main reason was transfer of pollution from the surrounding provinces, where steel and other heavy industry clusters have seen a resurgence in activity due to retrograde stimulus policies,” said Lauri Myllyvirta, who tracks Chinese air pollution for Greenpeace.

“主要原因是周圍省份的污染轉(zhuǎn)移，由于走回頭路的刺激政策，那些省份的鋼鐵和其他重工業(yè)活動(dòng)有所復(fù)蘇，”為綠色和平(Greenpeace)追蹤中國(guó)空氣污染的柳力(Lauri Myllyvirta)表示。

Cities in Hebei, the industrial province that surrounds Beijing, are flailing for a response. Shijiazhuang, the Hebei capital that holds the dubious honour of “most polluted city” on the north China plain this year, last month ordered all steel and cement plants to shut and limited operations at other plants. At least three publicly listed pharmaceutical factories announced they would temporarily shut.

環(huán)繞北京的工業(yè)大省河北境內(nèi)的各個(gè)城市正忙于回應(yīng)。河北省會(huì)、今年被點(diǎn)名為華北平原“污染最嚴(yán)重城市”的石家莊，上月勒令所有鋼鐵和水泥廠關(guān)閉，并限制其他工廠的運(yùn)營(yíng)。至少有三家公開(kāi)上市的制藥廠宣布它們將暫時(shí)停產(chǎn)。

Baoding, the industrial centre crowned smoggiest city in 2015, has ordered all cars to drive only on alternate days, an order that infuriated citizens.

2015年被評(píng)為霧霾最嚴(yán)重城市的工業(yè)重鎮(zhèn)保定，已命令所有汽車只能隔天上路，這使市民們憤怒。

The pollution over the past few weeks has reopened the question of whether improvements seen earlier in the year were due to economic factors, or the top-down diktats from Beijing.

過(guò)去幾個(gè)星期的污染已重新點(diǎn)燃這樣一個(gè)問(wèn)題：今年早些時(shí)候看到的空氣改善是由于經(jīng)濟(jì)因素，還是源于北京發(fā)出的自上而下的政令?

The sudden surge in pollution since September came after an unusually clear spring and summer for Beijingers. Steel mills in nearby Tangshan, the heart of the Chinese steel industry, shut this spring to ensure clear air for a horticultural show. The result was that steel mills in the Yangtze Valley raised production amid a corresponding increase in haze in Shanghai.

自9月以來(lái)污染突然加劇之前，北京市民度過(guò)了一個(gè)異常清新的春天和夏天。距離北京不遠(yuǎn)的中國(guó)鋼鐵工業(yè)中心唐山的鋼鐵廠在今年春天關(guān)閉，以便為一個(gè)園藝展覽保障清新空氣。其結(jié)果是長(zhǎng)江流域的鋼鐵廠加大馬力生產(chǎn)，而上海的霧霾出現(xiàn)相應(yīng)增加。

A sharp rise in coal prices starting in August and renewed economic activity has brought many plants back online that had been temporarily closed.

從8月份開(kāi)始煤炭?jī)r(jià)格大幅上漲，經(jīng)濟(jì)活動(dòng)恢復(fù)元?dú)馐沟迷S多此前暫時(shí)關(guān)閉的工廠重新開(kāi)工。

Meanwhile an unusually wet autumn and a low pressure weather systems over the eastern seas have pushed the murk from steel plants in the south back up into the North China plain.

與此同時(shí)，一個(gè)異常潮濕的秋天和東部海域的低氣壓天氣系統(tǒng)將南方鋼鐵廠排放的污染物推回華北平原。