印度新德里的空气污染有多严重

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月浓雾笼罩新德里之后，政治家们承诺要采取行动减少空气污染。一年后，空气中的颗粒物水平达到了政府认定的健康标准的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.

每年这个时候，新德里的空气温度下降，而且通常湿度较大，在这种条件下，污染物聚集在低空且不易扩散。这种空气很容易吸收邻近邦焚烧秸秆产生的浓烟以及新德里街道上的500多万辆车排放的尾气。

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.

上周四上午在德里东面的一个监测站，可吸入颗粒物PM10的浓度有近两个小时达到了每立方米1,940微克。德里污染控制委员会(Delhi Pollution Control Committee)的健康标准是每立方米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.

科学与环境中心(Centre for Science and Environment)执行主管罗伊乔杜里(Anumita Roychowdhury)说，相关数据肯定令人苦恼和担忧。

Air quality often deteriorates during the Diwali festival, which is celebrated with intense launching of firecrackers late into the night.

印度排灯节(Diwali)期间的空气质量常常恶化，排灯节的庆祝活动包括燃放烟花爆竹直到深夜。

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.

被污染的空气威胁人们的肺部，并导致入院人数激增。去年的浓雾后，印度政府说其将开展提高空气质量的行动，但在污染物消散后，这股势头也很快消退。德里仍然不时出现空气污染。

Weather officials hope wind will help sweep away hazardous air this year.

气象官员寄希望于风帮助吹散今年的有害空气。

'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.

印度气象部(India Meteorological Department)烟雾专家杰纳玛尼(Rajendra Jenamani)上周五说，排灯节肯定会有烟尘，但我们预计情况将较为缓和，不足以令人担忧。

This time last year, PM10 was averaging about 900 micrograms per cubic meter throughout the National Capital Region, data from six monitoring stations showed.

六个监控站的数据显示，去年这个时候，整个国家首都地区的PM10浓度平均达到了每立方米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，德里最高行政长官迪克希特(Sheila Dikshit)下令严惩污染车辆。依据《信息权法》(Right to Information)查询到的信息显示，当月交通部向污染车辆发出了6,551张罚单（金额为罚款1,000卢比（合16美元）），针对缺乏年度防污染证明的车辆发出6,326张罚单，以及对排出浓烟的车辆发出225张罚单。

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.

这些数字加起来差不多相当于去年11月之前的大部分月份罚单数量的两倍，但仍然只占德里街道上车辆总数的很小一部分。

This year, Transportation Department citations have fallen dramatically, with only 225 issued in May.

今年交通部的罚单大大下降，5月只发出了225张。

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.

交通部首席秘书戈尔(Puneet Goel)说，在去年12月一名23名学生在新德里的一辆公共汽车上被轮奸的案子之后，该部的工作重点发生了变化。

'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.'

戈尔说，由于轮奸事件，我们必须实施另一项特别行动。我们在处罚不守规矩的司机或没有合格身份证明及登记信息的司机。那是我们的首要任务。

In addition to vehicle checks, Ms. Dikshit last year said she would ask the central government to regulate farmers burning crops in neighboring states.

除了检查车辆，迪克希特去年说，她将要求中央政府对邻近邦的农民焚烧秸秆进行管制。

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.

收割完水稻后，农民们常常会焚烧稻田里剩下的秸秆，把田里的废物清理干 ，以便能够尽快开种小麦。

'It is as if it is deliberately being done to choke Delhi,' The Hindu newspaper quoted Ms. Dikshit as saying last year.

《印度教徒报》(The Hindu)去年援引迪克希特的话报道说，就好像是要故意呛死新德里一样。

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.

美国国家航空航天局(NASA)去年拍摄的一张照片显示了从哈里亚纳邦(Haryana)、北方邦(Uttar Pradesh)和旁遮普邦(Punjab)冒出白色的浓烟，并停留在首都新德里的上空。今年5月，一位环保活动人士向印度国家绿色法院(National Green Tribunal)提出起诉，起诉文件中以这张图片作为证据。这位人士在文件中指责上述三个邦没有采取足够力度的措施应对焚烧秸秆的问题。

'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.

这位活动人士通加德(Vikrant Tongad)在提交给法院的文件中说，邦政府和政府机构不作为，没有采取措施叫停秸秆焚烧。

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.

目前为止，尽管法院多次要求上述三个邦提交书面陈述，但只有哈里亚纳邦污染防治部门的官员向法院提交了一份书面陈述，承认上述指控并作出了回应。

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.

哈里亚纳邦污染控制委员会(Haryana State Pollution Control Board)提交的书面陈述说，2003年，哈里亚纳邦开始禁止焚烧秸秆，之后还采取了其他一些措施，比如向购买机械堆肥机的农民提供补贴。

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.

但这些努力似乎已经失去了后劲。据书面陈述显示，哈里亚纳邦过去一年记录在案的试图限制秸秆焚烧的方法只有一种，这种方法就是广播有关秸秆焚烧副作用的短歌和广告。广告在4月和5月的小麦收获季期间播出。

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.

印度环境与林业部(Ministry of Environment and Forests)说，焚烧秸秆会影响新德里的空气质量，但整顿还是叫停这一做法应该由邦政府决定。

'Nothing is being done on the ground. Everyone agrees that it is harmful, but no one is taking action,' said Mr. Tongad.

通加德说，没有采取任何实际措施。所有的人都知道这样做是有害的，但没有人采取行动。

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.

据科学与环境中心说，尽管采取了各种措施，包括将公交车改为压缩天然气驱动的车辆，但自2000年以来，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.

罗伊乔杜里和其他官员说，环境与林业部以及科学与环境中心提出了多种建议，包括打击新德里的公开秸秆焚烧行为，提高停车收费，但政府驳回了这些提议，因为政府希望提议内容更加详细。

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.

戈尔说，交通部正在努力追回失去的时间，发起了发空气污染罚单的新行动。他说，自6月以来，我们发出了1万多张罚单。

Right to Information documents show, however, that the department issued 11,921 citations between June and September, down from 21,803 a year earlier.

不过，依据《信息权法》查询到的文件显示，6月至9月，交通部发了11,921张罚单，低于上年同期的21,803张。

The city's hopes for clean air this Diwali and throughout winter depend largely on windy weather.

新德里对今年排灯节和整个冬季清洁空气的希望能否实现，从很大程度上要取决于风力条件。

'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.'

罗伊乔杜里说，如果出现像去年那样非常高的污染水平和雾霾，将是致命性的组合。我们急需一项冬季行动计划。