《财富杂志》这样报道这几天北京(及周边)的雾霾灾难：

　　Beijing and the surrounding provinces are experiencing a steady smog haze that the government has deemed a serious enough threat to public safety to shut down businesses, restrict cars, and close schools around the capital city.

　　北京及其周边城市近日受重度雾霾影响。由于本次雾霾严重危害公众健康，北京市政府宣布工厂停工、车辆限流、学校停课。

　　Despite the preventative measures, which started Friday, by Monday evening the city’s air quality index had reached 260. That’s more than five times what’s considered healthy and eight times New York City’s level. Outside of Beijing, the index level climbed twice as high.

　　虽然从上周五起，北京已经启动防御措施。然而，截止本周一傍晚，北京市的空气质量指数仍高达260，这一数据高出健康值的五倍，是纽约市的八倍。在北京周边地区，这一数值甚至是北京的两倍。

　　Like embarrassing smog episodes before this, the best the government can hope for is strong winds to clear the air.

　　与之前的每次雾霾污染事故相似，北京市政府唯一能做的，就是期待一阵大风来净化空气。

　　Three years ago China’s central government approved measures to dramatically reduce air pollution over 20 years. The causes of the country’s air quality issues—coal-derived power, poor quality gasoline, and unregulated heavy industry—do not have quick fixes, and the government isn’t sure it can reach its goal for two decades.

　　三年前，中央政府启动了一系列政策，目标在未来20年内改善空气污染问题。中国空气质量问题产生根源有如下几点：对煤炭能源的过分依赖，汽油燃料的落后，以及重工业的管理不当——这些问题都无法在短期内得以解决。因此，对于是否能在20年内达到预期目标，政府也忧心忡忡。

　　Smog remains a contentious point among the Chinese affluent urban class. In Chengdu earlier this month, police shut down a city center to prevent protesters complaining about pollution.

　　雾霾也引来了都市居民的广泛争议。本月早些时候，成都警方被迫叫停了一座城中村的建造工程，以平息民众的抗议。

　　NASA的科学分析

　　鉴于中国的雾霾问题已经引起了全球的关注，美国国家航空航天局NASA的专家从太空的角度分析了为啥中国雾霾的问题这么严重：