上圖： STR/法新社/蓋蒂圖片社，下圖： CARL DE SOUZA/法新社/蓋蒂圖片社

On Dec. 5, 1952, a thick layer of fog settled over the streets of London, blanketing the city. This was no ordinary wintery mist, but rather a noxious haze of sulfur dioxide from coal-fired industrial factories and cookstoves in London homes. London's Great Smog hung in the air for five consecutive days; visibility was reduced to mere feet and cars were abandoned or led off the road by police with traffic flares. It was the "nation's worst air pollution disaster" and remains the deadliest smog event on record. According to the Telegraph, the devastation the smog wrought "only became apparent when undertakers reported that they were running out of coffins and florists had sold all their flowers." In the following three months, an estimated 13,000 people died of respiratory complications.

1952年12月5日，大霧籠罩著整個倫敦城。這不是普通的冬季霧氣，而是煤炭燃燒產生的二氧化硫等污染物在城市上空蓄積的結果。倫敦冬季多使用燃煤采暖，市區內還分布有許多以煤為主要能源的火力發電站。倫敦的大霧連續五天彌漫在城市上空。能見度極低，汽車或被限制通行，或在交警的指揮下開著車燈前進。至今，這仍是“英國最為嚴重、最致命的霧霾污染事件”?！睹咳针娪崍蟆贩Q，直到“殯儀館的人說他們用完了所有的棺材，花店賣完了所有的鮮花”后，霧霾的危害才變得異常明顯。接下來的三個月，據估計約13000人死于呼吸道并發癥。

The hazy scenes of London's Great Smog bear a striking resemblence to modern-day images of China's urban centers on their most polluted days. And though China has never had an event to match those four days in London, its pollution problem is persistent and pervasive. In 2010, air pollutioncontributed to 1.2 million deaths in China. Between 1981 and 2001, particulate levels in its major cities were five times greater than what the United States experienced before 1970. And the problem is worsening at an incredible rate. In 2009, the concentration of particulate pollution in the Chinese city of Harbin averaged 101 micrograms per meter, according to the World Health Organization. Four years later, in October 2013, levels were up tenfold, a new record.

中國許多城市污染最嚴重的時候和倫敦1952年的霧霾天氣驚人的相似。雖然中國從未發生類似倫敦當年的慘痛經歷，但中國的污染問題仍舊堪憂。2010年，中國的環境污染致120萬人死亡。1981至2001年，中國主要城市的污染顆粒物含量是美國1970年以前的五倍多。這一問題正以驚人的速度惡化。據世界衛生組織稱，2009年哈爾濱的污染顆粒物濃度是每立方米101微克。四年后，2013年10月，哈爾濱的污染顆粒物濃度是之前的十倍，創下新高。

This week, Gina McCarthy, the new head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), said she would be meeting with partners in China in the coming days to address air pollution issues, but was careful to stress that this is not an challenge limited to China. The West, too, has faced hazardous pollution. "We have been there before," she said on Monday, Dec. 2. The comparison bears consideration; what follows is a series of photo pairings -- smog in London then, and in China now.

本周，美國環境保護署（EPA）的新負責人吉娜·麥卡錫表示，她將在接下來的幾天與中國的合作伙伴會面，以處理大氣污染問題。同時她也強調了這并非只是中國面臨的挑戰，西方世界也面臨著嚴重的污染。12月2日，她說：“我們也經歷過你們今天面臨的考驗。”對比中西方的污染會令我們反思；接下來是一系列的對比照片——彼時倫敦的霧霾，和此時中國的霧霾。

（來源：中國日報網愛新聞iNews 編輯：丹妮）