北京再遇严重雾霾

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

给北京带来坏名声的雾霾上周日卷土重来，尽管周边城市采取了大刀阔斧的措施来减少中国北方冬季的持续污染。

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.

重度雾霾已成为执政的共产党的非政治责任，并推动中国参与巴黎气候变化协定，限制二氧化碳和其他温室气体的排放。

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”.

美国驻北京大使馆发布的空气监测指数上周六晚突破600点，这个水平通常被称为“糟糕得令人发疯”，因为指数设计师最初认为该市的污染不可能超过500点。自2010年首次使用这个表述以来，该指数已在多个冬季突破这一水平，迫使美国使馆改用比较冷静的“危险”一词。

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.

北京英国学校(British School of Beijing)取消了一个圣诞活动，即使这个活动安排在室内举行。空气污染已经成为旅居北京的外国人如此在意的问题，以至于国际学校在室内空气质量上展开竞争。

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.

最新的雾霾是在有关部门已经采取一揽子不惜一切代价的措施的背景下降临的。北京新市长蔡奇最近放宽了该市2020年的改善空气质量目标，此前他的前任曾开玩笑说，要是实现不了2017年空气治理目标就提头来见。现在看来2017年的目标不太可能实现。

“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.

“主要原因是周围省份的污染转移，由于走回头路的刺激政策，那些省份的钢铁和其他重工业活动有所复苏，”为绿色和平(Greenpeace)追踪中国空气污染的柳力(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.

环绕北京的工业大省河北境内的各个城市正忙于回应。河北省会、今年被点名为华北平原“污染最严重城市”的石家庄，上月勒令所有钢铁和水泥厂关闭，并限制其他工厂的运营。至少有三家公开上市的制药厂宣布它们将暂时停产。

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年被评为雾霾最严重城市的工业重镇保定，已命令所有汽车只能隔天上路，这使市民们愤怒。

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.

过去几个星期的污染已重新点燃这样一个问题：今年早些时候看到的空气改善是由于经济因素，还是源于北京发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月以来污染突然加剧之前，北京市民度过了一个异常清新的春天和夏天。距离北京不远的中国钢铁工业中心唐山的钢铁厂在今年春天关闭，以便为一个园艺展览保障清新空气。其结果是长江流域的钢铁厂加大马力生产，而上海的雾霾出现相应增加。

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

从8月份开始煤炭价格大幅上涨，经济活动恢复元气使得许多此前暂时关闭的工厂重新开工。

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.

与此同时，一个异常潮湿的秋天和东部海域的低气压天气系统将南方钢铁厂排放的污染物推回华北平原。