香港空氣污染八月初創兩年之最大綱
Roadside air-pollution levels hit a two-year high in some parts of Hong Kong this week, obscuring the city's vistas in a sea of white haze and prompting the government to warn the young, the elderly and people with heart or respiratory illnesses to stay inside.
香港某些地區的路邊空氣污染水平八月份的第一週達到兩年來最高水平，全香港陷入到茫茫白霧之中，港府爲此發出警告：老人、小孩和患有心臟或呼吸疾病的人應避免外出。
Hong Kong's sky is typically bluer and cleaner in the summer months than in the rest of the year, as winds from the south blow in fewer pollutants and strong sea breezes offer relief, dispersing the dirty air. This week, though, the air was heavy with smog, as a nearby typhoon created a weather system that trapped pollutants and helped condense them, causing them to sink. At 7 a.m. on Thursday, roadside monitoring stations in the city's Central district recorded air-pollution index readings of 212, an extreme not seen in the area since dust storms hit Hong Kong in March 2010, bringing with them a cloud of noxious air.
在夏季，香港的天空一般會比其它季節更藍、更乾淨，因爲夏天會刮南風，帶來的污染物會較少，而且強勁的海風也會減輕污染壓力，吹散本來骯髒的空氣。但那周香港的空氣裏煙霧瀰漫，因爲附近的颱風形成了一個天氣系統，它使污染物越聚越濃並下沉到地面。8月2日早上7點，香港中環的路邊監測站錄得的空氣污染指數爲212，創下自2010年3月大範圍浮塵襲擊香港以來該市的最高污染值。那次浮塵天氣給香港帶來了大範圍的有害空氣。
On Wednesday afternoon, some people walking through Central district cupped their hands over their mouths as they walked, while others donned white surgical masks in an attempt to stave off the air's choking pollutants.
8月1日下午，一些人走過香港中環區時都掩鼻而行，還有人戴着白色醫用口罩，以避免直接吸入空氣中令人窒息的污染物。
'It's gotten really bad. You can feel it,' said Andrew Shum, an office worker in his 40s who braved the dirty air in Wan Chai district on Thursday because he wanted a cigarette break. Though he works on the 35th floor of a skyscraper with harbor vistas, he says, too often, pollution masks the view: 'You pay top dollar in office rent, but you can't see a thing.'
40多歲的公司職員Andrew Shum說，空氣太差了，是你可以感覺到的差。8月2日，他不顧香港灣仔區污濁的空氣，在室外吸了會兒煙。他說，雖然自己的辦公室在一幢可以看到海港景色的摩天大樓裏，但空氣中的污染物常常讓人看不清海景。他說，你付了高昂的寫字樓租金，但卻什麼也看不到。
Hong Kong has the second-worst roadside pollution levels of any major Chinese city, ranking only behind Urumqi, and its poor air quality regularly tops the list of concerns international businesses cite when considering whether to send employees to the city.
香港路邊污染的嚴重程度在中國所有大城市中排第二位，僅次於烏魯木齊。惡劣的空氣質量常常成爲跨國企業考慮將員工派駐香港時最擔心的問題。
Environmental activists say that while weather is to blame for the latest surge in pollution, the government should still be doing more to address the root issues behind the city's grey skies, such as car emissions. 'The weather is just exacerbating the situation,' said Erica Chan, campaign manager at Clean Air Network.
環保人士說，雖然最近這次污染加劇有天氣原因，但香港政府也應採取更多行動來解決造成香港天空灰暗的根本性問題，如汽車尾氣排放等。香港環保組織健康空氣行動(Clean Air Network)的負責人Erica Chan說，天氣只是讓污染狀況惡化而已。
