中國空氣污染轉向內陸 China's air pollution lifts in coastal cities but drifts inland

The smog is thinning in China’s eastern cities such as Beijing and Shanghai, but worsening in the country’s interior, according to data collated by environmental group Greenpeace.

根據環保組織綠色和平組織(Greenpeace)整理的數據，北京和上海等中國東部城市的霧霾正在減少，而中國內陸城市的霧霾卻在加重。

China’s rich coastal cities have been cracking down on air pollution for the past three years, setting caps on coal use and closing down nearby coal-fired power plants.

過去三年，中國富裕的沿海城市一直在大力整治空氣污染，爲煤炭的使用設定上限，並關閉附近的燃煤電廠。

As a result, Beijing’s smog — notorious for blighting the capital — has continued its recent run of improvement, with an average concentration PM2.5 fine particle pollution falling 28 per cent year-on-year in the first three months of 2016.

其結果是，在北京，曾以籠罩首都聞名的霧霾延續了近來的好轉態勢，2016年頭三個月PM2.5細顆粒物污染平均濃度同比減少了28%。

Shanghai’s pollution fell 12 per cent, according to figures gathered from city air monitoring stations by Greenpeace.

根據綠色和平組織從城市空氣監測站收集的數據，上海市的污染下降了12%。

But in spite of the improvements, both cities recorded average PM2.5 levels of at least six times the World Health Organisation guideline maximum of 10 microgrammes per cubic metre of air (/m3).

不過，儘管兩個城市的污染狀況都有所改善，但它們錄得的PM2.5平均水平都至少是世界衛生組織(WHO)建議的大值每立方米空氣10微克的六倍。

Beijing’s annual PM2.5 average is 67.7/m3, placing it behind the world’s most air-polluted city, New Delhi, which recorded 153 in 2013, the most recent year for which the WHO had data. Hong Kong’s air was at 21, with London on 16.

北京的PM2.5年平均值爲每立方米67.7微克，低於全球污染嚴重的城市新德里。在世衛組織擁有新數據的2013年，新德里曾錄得每立方米153微克。香港的PM2.5濃度爲每立方米21微克，倫敦爲每立方米16微克。

“While a country is undergoing economic development, urbanisation and industrialisation, one seldom sees these kind of improvements,” said Chen Jining, minister for environmental protection, speaking at March’s People’s Congress. He added that China was also “being affected by adverse weather conditions... such as wind speed decreasing compared to previous years”.

中國環保部部長陳吉寧在今年3月的人代會上曾表示：“我可以坦率告訴大家，在經濟社會發展進程之中，在城鎮化、工業化進程中取得這樣的進步是很少有的。”他還補充說，中國也“受到強厄爾尼諾現象的影響，極端地不利……比如風速與往年相比減少了5%”。

Overall, average PM2.5 levels across 355 Chinese cities surveyed fell 9 per cent compared with the first quarter of last year.

總體上，355個被調查中國城市的平均PM2.5水平比去年第一季度下降了9%。

But although China’s eastern cities are cleaning up their act, it is coming at the expense of the rest of the country. While coal power plants have been shuttered in northern Hebei — a neighbour of Beijing — central and western provinces have seen an increase in coal-plant building “specifically because their air pollution and emissions regulations are more lax”, said Greenpeace.

不過，儘管中國東部城市正變得清潔，這個成就是以其他城市爲代價的。綠色和平組織表示，儘管毗鄰北京的河北省關閉了多家燃煤電廠，但中西部省份出現了燃煤電廠建設增加的情況，“尤其是因爲那裏的空氣污染和碳排放監管更寬鬆”。

Of the cities surveyed, 91 saw air pollution intensify in the period year-on-year. The worst-affected were in China’s centre and west, of which 69 cities saw air pollution increase an average of more than 20 per cent.

在被調查的城市中，91個城市在過去一年的空氣污染同比加重了。受到影響嚴重的是中國的中西部，那裏的69個城市空氣污染平均上升逾20%。