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A new poster child for air pollution? 空氣污染的新代表？
Wide gap between New Delhi, Beijing smog policies
新德里，北京處理塵霾政策南轅北轍 |
|
Think twice before taking a deep breath in New Delhi, where
worsening air pollution has drawn comparisons with Beijing, the
world's air pollution poster child. Air monitoring sensors
around the Indian capital have routinely registered levels of
small airborne particles at "hazardous" levels in recent months,
rivaling Beijing. While it's uncertain which city has worse
smog, one thing is clear: China's capital is taking steps to
improve air quality but New Delhi hasn't done much to tackle the
problem. |
在新德里深呼吸之前得三思。在新德里，愈來愈嚴重的空氣污染使人把它和北京這個世界空氣污染代表城市相提並論。最近幾個月來，在印度首都的空氣監測感應器經常記錄到「達危險程度」的空中微粒數量，可以和北京比擬。兩個城市哪一個的塵霾問題比較嚴重尚無法確定，但有一點是很明顯的：中國首都已經在採取步驟改善空氣品質，但新德里在處理這個問題方面卻未見什麼建樹。 |
| Doctors overwhelmingly agree that more people
in New Delhi are getting sick from the air pollution, although
there is scant data to show it. Air pollution is proven to
exacerbate chronic lung ailments, and there is mounting evidence
that it also leads to coronary diseases. |
雖然足以顯示情況的資料不多，但所有醫生幾乎一面倒認為空氣污染令新德里居民身體不適。空氣污染已經被證實會導致慢性胸肺疾病惡化，而且有愈來愈多的證據顯示，空污也會引發冠狀動脈病。 |
| Comparing pollution levels between the two
megacities, home to a combined 29 million people, seems natural
given their iconic status representing Asia's growth. They both
have gone through breakneck economic development, raising living
standards but also spewing out loads of pollution. |
由於這兩個人口合計達兩千九百萬人的超級城市是亞洲成長的典範，因此比較它們的污染程度似乎是理所當然的事。兩個城市均經歷了速度驚人的經濟成長，生活水準提高了，但大量污染也同時產生了。 |
| There are various ways to measure air
pollution, but comparisons have generally focused on microscopic
particulate matter, which can lodge in a person's lungs and
fester over time. In New Delhi, levels of PM 10 — particulate
matter that is 10 micrometers in size — have routinely bounced
around 400 micrograms per cubic meter in the past several
months. That's four times the city's legal limit of 100, and
well above the World Health Organization's recommended limit of
20. In 2011, the average level rose to about 280. |
測量空氣污染的方法很多，但進行比較時，一般都會注重非常小的懸浮微粒子。這種物質可以藏身人體肺部之內，假以時日就會釀成問題。過去幾個月來，在新德里，PM
10
────即十微米大小的微粒子────經常都是在每立方公尺四百微克的程度徘徊。這個數量是該市一百微克法定上限的四倍，更遠遠超出聯合國世界衛生組織廿微克的建議上限。在二○一一年，平均數字增加至兩百八十左右。 |
| In Beijing, average annual PM 10 levels
declined to just above 100 last year, according to the Center
for Science and Environment, a Delhi-based research group. The
Chinese capital is also way ahead of its Indian counterpart in
terms of informing citizens about the dangers of pollution.
Beijing has launched a health alert system that advises caution
on smoggy days, and the term PM 2.5 — particles even smaller
than PM 10 and considered more dangerous to health — has become
a common part of the vocabulary among citizens. |
據在新印度新德里活動的研究組織科學與環境中心說，北京去年的年度 PM 10
平均含量跌至一百左右。在讓市民了解汙染的危險方面，北京遠遠走在新德里前頭。北京創立了一個衛生警報系統，在陰霾蔽天的日子裡敦促市民審慎。而
PM 2.5────比 PM 10 還小而且對健康危害更大的微粒子────也成了北京市民語彙中的常用語之一。 |
| New Delhi has no such alert system. While the
city recently began offering smog data online, experts say many
among the migrant-heavy population are unlikely to see or
understand the information. "It is the state's responsibility to
inform people about pollution dangers," said Anumita
Roychowdhury, research director at the Center for Science and
Environment. "People need to know what they're breathing, even
if only so they can demand better." |
新德里沒有這樣的預警系統。這個城市最近開始在網路上提供塵霾資料，但專家說，在這個流動人口佔人口總數很高比例的城市裡，很多人不太可能看到或理解這些資料。科學與環境中心研究主任安魯米塔萊伊周德赫利說：「讓人民知道污染的危害，是國家的責任。人們要知道他們呼吸的是什麼
，即使知情的目的只是要求改善，也應該如此。」 |
