陰霾籠罩下的馬來西亞

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — For much of the year, the Petronas Towers, the world’s tallest twin buildings, are gleaming landmarks visible far from the city center here. But last weekend, the 88-story structures were shrouded in a smoky haze that prompted doctors to warn people with respiratory problems to wear masks.

吉隆坡，馬來西亞——在一年的大多數(shù)時間里，人們都能從遠離市中心的地方看到那座閃閃發(fā)亮的地標性建筑——雙子塔，世界上最高的雙子建筑。但是上周末，這座88層高的建筑被陰霾籠罩，醫(yī)生不得不警告患有呼吸系統(tǒng)疾病的人戴上面具。

The haze, attributed mostly to fires burning on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, has become a recurring summer blight, engulfing parts of Malaysia, Thailand, Brunei and Singapore, and leaving a litany of health and economic costs in its wake.

這些陰霾主要來自印度尼西亞蘇門答臘島的大火，已經(jīng)成為夏日常態(tài)，禍及馬來西亞、泰國、文萊以及新加坡的部分地區(qū)，造成了一連串的健康問題和經(jīng)濟損失。

Experts say that some progress has been made in the 15 years since the Association of Southeast Asian Nations first pledged to combat the problem, after one of the worst forest fires in the region’s history. That fire was traced to the clearing of land by burning in Indonesia.

專家說，15年前印尼因燒荒而引發(fā)了該地區(qū)史上最嚴重的森林火災，當時東南亞國家聯(lián)盟(Association of Southeast Asian Nations)第一次承諾解決這一問題，自此之后，情況確實有所改善。

But experts say far more must be done before the area will see clearer skies, including better law enforcement and international cooperation.

但專家表示，該地區(qū)想要重見藍天，還有許多工作要做，包括加強執(zhí)法以及國際合作。

The haze that hit Kuala Lumpur last weekend was the worst so far this year, according to Halimah Hassan, director general of Malaysia’s Department of Environment, with readings on the air pollution index exceeding the threshold for unhealthy.

馬來西亞環(huán)境部(Malaysia’s Department of Environment)部長哈莉瑪·哈森(Halimah Hassan)表示，上周末侵襲吉隆坡的陰霾是今年以來最嚴重的，空氣污染指數(shù)超過了不健康指數(shù)界限。

By Monday, winds had begun pushing the haze north. Asean’s Web site on the haze reported that the smoke was also affecting southern Thailand early last week.

周一，大風已經(jīng)開始將陰霾向北推移。與陰霾相關(guān)的東盟網(wǎng)站報道說，上周早期，陰霾還影響到了泰國的南部地區(qū)。

The skies over Kuala Lumpur were clearer on Friday, and pollution levels in the capital had dropped to mostly moderate levels. But unhealthy levels were reported in Miri, in Sarawak State, on the island of Borneo, because of a peat fire that started in the area on Thursday.

周五，吉隆坡的天空趨于晴朗，大部分區(qū)域的污染降低到了中等水平。但加里曼丹島沙撈越州米里地區(qū)的空氣污染達到了危害健康水平，原因是周四爆發(fā)了泥炭火災。

Ms. Halimah warned that the haze could continue to be a problem in the coming months, given predictions of dry weather and southwesterly winds until September.

哈莉瑪女士警告說，陰霾可能會持續(xù)幾個月，原因是干燥的氣候和西南風預計會延續(xù)到9月。

The environment department has imposed a blanket ban on open fires in Malaysia and has increased efforts to control local sources of air pollution. However, Ms. Halimah said, fires in Indonesia were primarily responsible for pushing the air pollution index to unhealthy levels.

馬來西亞環(huán)境部下達了有關(guān)野外用火的全面禁令，并且加大了控制本地污染源的力度。不過，哈莉瑪女士說，印尼的火災才是導致空氣污染指數(shù)達到不健康水平的主要因素。

A major source of smoke, researchers say, are fires set on palm oil and rubber plantations, primarily in Sumatra, to get rid of old trees and to clear land for new plantations.

研究人員稱，陰霾的主要成因是焚燒棕櫚樹和橡膠種植園的舉動，目的是清除老樹，騰出土地種植新樹。這樣的舉動主要出現(xiàn)在蘇門答臘島。