印度新德里的空氣污染有多嚴重
Politicians promised action to reduce air pollution after heavy smog enveloped New Delhi last November. One year later, levels of particulate matter have hit nearly 20 times what the government considers a standard for health.
去年11月濃霧籠罩新德里之後，政治家們承諾要採取行動減少空氣污染。一年後，空氣中的顆粒物水平達到了政府認定的健康標準的20倍。At this time of year, the air in Delhi cools and is often moist, which keeps pollution low-lying and stagnant. It easily absorbs soot from burning crops in neighboring states and exhaust from the more than five million vehicles on the city's streets.
每年這個時候，新德里的空氣溫度下降，而且通常溼度較大，在這種條件下，污染物聚集在低空且不易擴散。這種空氣很容易吸收鄰近邦焚燒秸稈產生的濃煙以及新德里街道上的500多萬輛車排放的尾氣。Inhalable waste in the form of particulate matter 10, or PM10, hit 1,940 micrograms per cubic meter for nearly two hours Thursday morning at a monitoring station in east Delhi. The Delhi Pollution Control Committee's standard for healthy conditions is 100 micrograms per cubic meter or lower.
上週四上午在德里東面的一個監測站，可吸入顆粒物PM10的濃度有近兩個小時達到了每立方米1,940微克。德里污染控制委員會(Delhi Pollution Control Committee)的健康標準是每立方米100微克以下。
'The numbers are certainly very troublesome and a matter of worry,' said Anumita Roychowdhury, an executive director at the Centre for Science and Environment.
科學與環境中心(Centre for Science and Environment)執行主管羅伊喬杜裏(Anumita Roychowdhury)說，相關數據肯定令人苦惱和擔憂。Air quality often deteriorates during the Diwali festival, which is celebrated with intense launching of firecrackers late into the night.
印度排燈節(Diwali)期間的空氣質量常常惡化，排燈節的慶祝活動包括燃放煙花爆竹直到深夜。The polluted air threatens people's lungs and leads to a spike in hospital admissions. After the thick smog of last year, the government said it would launch a campaign to improve air quality, but the momentum faded soon after the pollution lifted. Delhi remains vulnerable to more toxic episodes.
被污染的空氣威脅人們的肺部，並導致入院人數激增。去年的濃霧後，印度政府說其將開展提高空氣質量的行動，但在污染物消散後，這股勢頭也很快消退。德里仍然不時出現空氣污染。Weather officials hope wind will help sweep away hazardous air this year.
氣象官員寄希望於風幫助吹散今年的有害空氣。'Definitely there will be smoke from Diwali, but we forecast the condition will be moderate, not alarming,' Rajendra Jenamani, a fog expert at the India Meteorological Department, said Friday.
印度氣象部(India Meteorological Department)煙霧專家傑納瑪尼(Rajendra Jenamani)上週五說，排燈節肯定會有煙塵，但我們預計情況將較爲緩和，不足以令人擔憂。This time last year, PM10 was averaging about 900 micrograms per cubic meter throughout the National Capital Region, data from six monitoring stations showed.
六個監控站的數據顯示，去年這個時候，整個國家首都地區的PM10濃度平均達到了每立方米900微克。Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit ordered a crackdown on polluting vehicles in November 2012. That month, the Transportation Department issued 6,551 citations -- amounting to a fine of 1,000 rupees ($16) each -- to polluting vehicles, 6,326 for vehicles lacking a yearly pollution certificate and 225 for vehicles emitting smoke, according to a Right to Information request.
2012年11月，德里最高行政長官迪克希特(Sheila Dikshit)下令嚴懲污染車輛。依據《信息權法》(Right to Information)查詢到的信息顯示，當月交通部向污染車輛發出了6,551張罰單（金額爲罰款1,000盧比（合16美元）），針對缺乏年度防污染證明的車輛發出6,326張罰單，以及對排出濃煙的車輛發出225張罰單。The numbers combined were nearly twice as high as most months leading up to last November, but still amounted to a tiny fraction of vehicles on Delhi's roads.
這些數字加起來差不多相當於去年11月之前的大部分月份罰單數量的兩倍，但仍然只佔德里街道上車輛總數的很小一部分。This year, Transportation Department citations have fallen dramatically, with only 225 issued in May.
今年交通部的罰單大大下降，5月只發出了225張。Puneet Goel, principal secretary at the department, said priorities changed following the gang rape of 23-year-old student on a bus in the capital in December.
交通部首席祕書戈爾(Puneet Goel)說，在去年12月一名23名學生在新德里的一輛公共汽車上被輪姦的案子之後，該部的工作重點發生了變化。'We had to carry out another special drive because of the gang rape,' Mr. Goel said. 'We were disciplining unruly drivers or ones who didn't have proper identification and registration. It was our first priority.'
戈爾說，由於輪姦事件，我們必須實施另一項特別行動。我們在處罰不守規矩的司機或沒有合格身份證明及登記信息的司機。那是我們的首要任務。In addition to vehicle checks, Ms. Dikshit last year said she would ask the central government to regulate farmers burning crops in neighboring states.
除了檢查車輛，迪克希特去年說，她將要求中央政府對鄰近邦的農民焚燒秸稈進行管制。After harvesting rice, farmers often set fire to the remains of the paddies to clear fields of waste so they can start planting wheat as soon as possible.
收割完水稻後，農民們常常會焚燒稻田裏剩下的秸稈，把田裏的廢物清理幹 ，以便能夠儘快開種小麥。'It is as if it is deliberately being done to choke Delhi,' The Hindu newspaper quoted Ms. Dikshit as saying last year.
《印度教徒報》(The Hindu)去年援引迪克希特的話報道說，就好像是要故意嗆死新德里一樣。A NASA photograph last year showed a white canopy emanating from the states of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab and settling over the capital. In May, an environmental activist submitted the picture as evidence in a case filed to the National Green Tribunal in which he accused the three states of not doing enough to tackle crop burning.
美國國家航空航天局(NASA)去年拍攝的一張照片顯示了從哈里亞納邦(Haryana)、北方邦(Uttar Pradesh)和旁遮普邦(Punjab)冒出白色的濃煙，並停留在首都新德里的上空。今年5月，一位環保活動人士向印度國家綠色法院(National Green Tribunal)提出起訴，起訴文件中以這張圖片作爲證據。這位人士在文件中指責上述三個邦沒有采取足夠力度的措施應對焚燒秸稈的問題。'There is inaction on the part of the state governments and departments to stop the practice,' the activist, Vikrant Tongad, wrote in his submission to the tribunal.
這位活動人士通加德(Vikrant Tongad)在提交給法院的文件中說，邦政府和政府機構不作爲，沒有采取措施叫停秸稈焚燒。So far only Haryana pollution officials have filed an affidavit that acknowledges the accusation and responds to it, despite several requests for the affidavits from the court.
目前爲止，儘管法院多次要求上述三個邦提交書面陳述，但只有哈里亞納邦污染防治部門的官員向法院提交了一份書面陳述，承認上述指控並作出了迴應。Haryana banned the burning of leftover straw in 2003 and has since taken other steps such as providing subsidies to farmers who buy mechanical residue composters, the Haryana State Pollution Control Board's affidavit says.
哈里亞納邦污染控制委員會(Haryana State Pollution Control Board)提交的書面陳述說，2003年，哈里亞納邦開始禁止焚燒秸稈，之後還採取了其他一些措施，比如向購買機械堆肥機的農民提供補貼。But these efforts appear to have lost traction. The state only documented one way it tried to limit burning in the past year, and that was by broadcasting jingles and advertisements about its adverse effects, the affidavit showed. The commercials ran during the wheat harvest season in April and May.
但這些努力似乎已經失去了後勁。據書面陳述顯示，哈里亞納邦過去一年記錄在案的試圖限制秸稈焚燒的方法只有一種，這種方法就是廣播有關秸稈焚燒副作用的短歌和廣告。廣告在4月和5月的小麥收穫季期間播出。The Ministry of Environment and Forests says burning affects air quality in Delhi, but that it is up to the state governments to decide whether they want to regulate the practice or promote campaigns to stop it.
印度環境與林業部(Ministry of Environment and Forests)說，焚燒秸稈會影響新德里的空氣質量，但整頓還是叫停這一做法應該由邦政府決定。'Nothing is being done on the ground. Everyone agrees that it is harmful, but no one is taking action,' said Mr. Tongad.
通加德說，沒有采取任何實際措施。所有的人都知道這樣做是有害的，但沒有人採取行動。PM10 in Delhi has risen more than 47% since 2000 and nitrogen dioxide levels are up 57%, according to the Centre for Science and Environment, despite steps such as switching public transport vehicles to run on compressed natural gas.
據科學與環境中心說，儘管採取了各種措施，包括將公交車改爲壓縮天然氣驅動的車輛，但自2000年以來，新德里的PM10上升了47%以上，二氧化氮水平上升了57%。The Department of Environment and CSE proposed cracking down on open fires in Delhi and charging more for parking, among other initiatives, but the government rejected the proposals as it wanted more details, Ms. Roychowdhury and other officials said.
羅伊喬杜裏和其他官員說，環境與林業部以及科學與環境中心提出了多種建議，包括打擊新德里的公開秸稈焚燒行爲，提高停車收費，但政府駁回了這些提議，因爲政府希望提議內容更加詳細。Mr. Goel says the Transportation Department is trying to make up for lost time, with a new drive for issuing air pollution citations. 'We've had more than 10,000 citations since June,' he said.
戈爾說，交通部正在努力追回失去的時間，發起了發空氣污染罰單的新行動。他說，自6月以來，我們發出了1萬多張罰單。Right to Information documents show, however, that the department issued 11,921 citations between June and September, down from 21,803 a year earlier.
不過，依據《信息權法》查詢到的文件顯示，6月至9月，交通部發了11,921張罰單，低於上年同期的21,803張。The city's hopes for clean air this Diwali and throughout winter depend largely on windy weather.
新德里對今年排燈節和整個冬季清潔空氣的希望能否實現，從很大程度上要取決於風力條件。'If you have really high pollution levels and fog like last year, it's a deadly combination,' Ms. Roychowdhury said. 'We severely need a winter action plan.'
羅伊喬杜裏說，如果出現像去年那樣非常高的污染水平和霧霾，將是致命性的組合。我們急需一項冬季行動計劃。
