More than 20 million residents in Delhi’s metropolitan area are yet again facing some of the worst pollution on earth, with air quality degrading to dangerous levels this week as a mix of weather conditions, urban emissions, and rural smoke converge over India’s capital region.
德里城区内的2千多万居民再次面临全球最严重污染，本周受天气状况、城市排放和笼罩在印度首都的乡村烟雾的综合影响，空气质量降至危险水平。

Delhi’s Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal turned to Twitter to describe his city as a “gas chamber.”
德里首席部长Arvind Kejriwal在推特上说这个城市成了“毒气室”。

The gray haze led to canceled flights, closed schools, and created a public health emergency. The government distributed 5 million face masks to schoolchildren.
灰霾导致航班取消、学校放假、公众健康陷入危机。政府给小学生发放了500万个口罩。

图片来源：视觉中国

On Monday, some air quality index monitors maxed out with ratings of 999 and pollution reached 50 times the level deemed safe by the World Health Organization. For Delhiites, breathing the air was like smoking 50 cigarettes in a day. The US Embassy in New Delhi maintains its own air quality monitor and reported Thursday that the air quality index improved to a rating of 255, merely “very unhealthy.”
周一一些空气质量指数监测器爆表，指数达到999，污染程度达到了世界卫生组织安全标准的50倍。德里市民呼吸这样的空气就好比一天吸掉50支香烟。美国驻新德里大使馆使用自己的空气质量监测器，周四报告称空气质量指数提高到了255，仅仅是“非常不健康”。

This surge in air pollution in Delhi is an alarmingly regular occurrence, and it’s part of a dangerous pollution problem in India.
德里空气污染加剧的常态令人担忧，整个印度都面临严重的污染问题。

The World Health Organization reported last year that 11 of the 12 cities in the world with the most pollution from PM2.5 — particles smaller than 2.5 microns in diameter that can cause dangerous heart troubles and breathing problems — were in India.
去年世界卫生组织的报告中说世界上12个PM2.5污染最严重的城市中有11个是印度城市。PM2.5指的是直径小于2.5微米的粒子，会引起危险的心脏疾病和呼吸问题。

The Lancet Commission on pollution and health found that in 2015, there were 9 million premature deaths stemming from air pollution around the world.
《柳叶刀》杂志污染及卫生委员会发现2015年全球空气污染造成900万人过早死亡。

India suffered the worst toll of any country, with more than 2.5 million of these deaths.
所有国家中印度死亡情况最严重，此类死亡人数超过250万。

Pollution has also shaved 3.2 years from the life expectancies of 660 million people in the country, according to one estimate.
据估算，污染也使全国6.6亿人的预期寿命缩短了3.2年。

 

翻译：菲菲