Masks, Polluted Air Are Back in New Delhi

Masks, Polluted Air Are Back in New Delhi

口罩，污染的空气回到新德里

【原文听力】

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　　By Dan Novak

　　07 November 2023

　　Face coverings, or masks, are back on the streets of New Delhi as residents deal with an increase in air pollution.

　　The city's government has ordered primary schools to close this week and polluting vehicles and building projects are banned. A thick cover of smog hangs over New Delhi's monuments and buildings.

　　In the Indian capital, officials are struggling to reduce severe air pollution levels. Air pollution in New Delhi is a yearly and continuous health crisis that affects the lives of over 20 million in the city.

　　On Tuesday, the air quality index came close to the level of 400 for tiny particulate matter. That is a level considered dangerous. It is more than 10 times the level considered safe, said SAFAR, India's main environmental agency. It is the fifth straight day of bad air in the area.

　　Officials have released water sprinklers and anti-smog guns to control the pollution. They also announced a fine of $240 for drivers found using gasoline and diesel cars, buses and trucks that create smog. Meanwhile, doctors have advised residents to wear masks and avoid outdoors as much as possible.

　　Residents like 55-year-old Renu Aggarwal are worried the smog will worsen as Diwali approaches this weekend. The Hindu festival of light includes the lighting of fireworks. Aggarwal said her daughter has a pollen allergy that worsens with pollution.

　　"She cannot breathe. Even though we keep the doors and windows shut in our home, the pollution still affects her so much that even going to the washroom is difficult for her. And she gets breathless," she said.

　　New Delhi tops the list almost every year of many Indian cities with poor air quality. It gets especially bad in the winter when crops are burned in neighboring states and cooler temperatures create smoggy conditions.

　　Burning the remains of crops at the start of the winter wheat season is an important cause to the pollution in north India. Officials have been trying to prevent farmers from using the method by offering money to buy machines to turn the soil. But the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology says smoke from crop burning still accounts for 25 percent of the pollution in New Delhi.

　　Respirer Living Sciences is a group that watches air quality and other environmental signs. It said New Delhi saw a sharp 32 percent rise in tiny particles in the air between 2019 and 2020, a decrease of 44 percent in 2021, and a steady increase in 2022 and 2023.

　　The severe air pollution crisis affects every resident in the city, but the millions who work outdoors are even more at risk.

　　Gulshan Kumar drives a motorized rickshaw. He said his nose, throat and eyes regularly fill up with dirt in the air.

　　His children urge him to return to his hometown in Bihar state. "They ask me why I work in this polluted and diseased city," he said. "If I had had employment back home, I wouldn't have come to Delhi to work."

　　I'm Dan Novak.

　　Dan Novak adapted this story for VOA Learning English based on reporting by The Associated Press.

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　　丹·诺瓦克

　　2023年11月7日

　　遮盖面部的东西，或称面具，重新出现在新德里的街道上居民应对日益严重的空气污染。

　　该市政府已下令小学本周停课，污染车辆和建筑项目被禁止。厚厚的一层烟雾笼罩着新德里的纪念碑和建筑。

　　在印度首都，官员们正在努力降低严重的空气污染水平。新德里的空气污染是每年持续的健康危机，影响着该市2000多万人的生活。

　　周二，tiny的空气质量指数接近400微粒的事。这是一个被认为危险的水平。印度主要环境机构SAFAR表示，这是安全水平的10倍以上。这是该地区连续第五天空气质量不佳。

　　官员已经放水了洒水装置和防烟雾枪来控制污染。他们还宣布对使用汽油车、柴油车、公交车和卡车制造烟雾的司机罚款240美元。与此同时，医生建议居民戴上口罩，尽可能避免户外活动。

　　像55岁的Renu Aggarwal这样的居民担心随着本周末排灯节的临近，烟雾将会恶化。印度教的光明节包括燃放烟花。阿格沃尔说她的女儿有一个花粉变态反应这种情况随着污染而恶化。

　　“她无法呼吸。即使我们把家里的门窗关好，污染仍然影响着她，以至于她上厕所都很困难。她喘不过气来，”她说。

　　在许多空气质量差的印度城市中，新德里几乎每年都名列榜首。在冬天，当邻近各州的农作物被烧毁，较低的温度造成烟雾弥漫的情况时，情况变得尤其糟糕。

　　在冬麦季节开始时焚烧作物残余是印度北部污染的一个重要原因。官员们一直试图通过提供资金购买翻土机器来阻止农民使用这种方法。但是印度热带气象研究所表示，农作物燃烧产生的烟雾仍然占新德里污染的25%。

　　呼吸生命科学是一个观察空气质量和其他环境迹象的组织。报告称，2019年至2020年，新德里空气中的微小颗粒急剧增加32%，2021年减少44%，2022年和2023年稳步增加。

　　严重的空气污染危机影响着这个城市的每一个居民，但是数百万在户外工作的人面临着更大的危险。

　　古尔尚·库马尔驾驶着一辆机动的人力车。他说他的鼻子、喉咙和眼睛经常充满空气中的灰尘。

　　他的孩子敦促他回到家乡比哈尔邦。“他们问我为什么在这个污染和疾病的城市工作，”他说。"如果我在国内有工作，我就不会来德里工作了。"

　　我是丹·诺瓦克。

　　丹·诺瓦克根据美联社的报道改编了这个故事。

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　　这个故事中的词语

　　enrolled –adj. 被学校录取并完全有能力上课

　　rent –n. 为居住或使用不属于您的财产或设备而支付的定期费用

　　therapist –n. 被训练不用药物或医疗手术来治疗疾病的人

　　psychiatric –adj. 与针对情绪和精神障碍的医学分支相关

　　punctuation –n.单词之间的标记，便于阅读和理解文字