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(gè)倫敦城。這不是普通的冬季霧氣，而是煤炭燃燒產(chǎn)生的二氧化硫等污染物在城市上空蓄積的結(jié)果。倫敦冬季多使用燃煤采暖，市區(qū)內(nèi)還分布有許多以煤為主要能源的火力發(fā)電站。倫敦的大霧連續(xù)五天彌漫在城市上空。能見(jiàn)度極低，汽車(chē)或被限制通行，或在交警的指揮下開(kāi)著車(chē)燈前進(jìn)。至今，這仍是“英國(guó)最為嚴(yán)重、最致命的霧霾污染事件”。《每日電訊報(bào)》稱(chēng)，直到“殯儀館的人說(shuō)他們用完了所有的棺材，花店賣(mài)完了所有的鮮花”后，霧霾的危害才變得異常明顯。接下來(lái)的三個(gè)月，據(jù)估計(jì)約13000人死于呼吸道并發(fā)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(guó)許多城市污染最嚴(yán)重的時(shí)候和倫敦1952年的霧霾天氣驚人的相似。雖然中國(guó)從未發(fā)生類(lèi)似倫敦當(dāng)年的慘痛經(jīng)歷，但中國(guó)的污染問(wèn)題仍舊堪憂(yōu)。2010年，中國(guó)的環(huán)境污染致120萬(wàn)人死亡。1981至2001年，中國(guó)主要城市的污染顆粒物含量是美國(guó)1970年以前的五倍多。這一問(wèn)題正以驚人的速度惡化。據(jù)世界衛(wèi)生組織稱(chēng)，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(chuàng)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(guó)環(huán)境保護(hù)署（EPA）的新負(fù)責(zé)人吉娜·麥卡錫表示，她將在接下來(lái)的幾天與中國(guó)的合作伙伴會(huì)面，以處理大氣污染問(wèn)題。同時(shí)她也強(qiáng)調(diào)了這并非只是中國(guó)面臨的挑戰(zhàn)，西方世界也面臨著嚴(yán)重的污染。12月2日，她說(shuō)：“我們也經(jīng)歷過(guò)你們今天面臨的考驗(yàn)。”對(duì)比中西方的污染會(huì)令我們反思；接下來(lái)是一系列的對(duì)比照片——彼時(shí)倫敦的霧霾，和此時(shí)中國(guó)的霧霾。

（來(lái)源：中國(guó)日?qǐng)?bào)網(wǎng)愛(ài)新聞iNews 編輯：丹妮）