【英语中国】中国空气污染随经济复苏而加剧

As if China's flooding and another heat wave weren't enough to make you want to bury your head, authorities have reaffirmed that China's air quality continues to get worse.

Back in June, the Ministry of Environmental Protection acknowledged at a press conference that pollution rose in the first quarter of the year, the first quarterly rise since 2007. Then, on a report quietly released on the ministry website Monday, the environmental watchdog delivered even worse news: The first half of 2010 had the worst air quality since 2005.

One of the chief culprits was a humongous increase in particulate matter such as soot, whose presence in air is linked to a range of health issues. Particle pollution levels rose 0.091 milligrams per cubic meter in 113 major cities from just 0.002 milligrams a year earlier.

Authorities also say sand storms added to the worsening air quality. Still, this year's rise in pollution points to the argument that clear skies last year were the side effect of the economic slowdown, not the result of stricter environmental policies.

Chinese state media said that China's economic recovery, heavily reliant on industry such as steel, cement and power underpinning a housing boom as well as a surge in automobile ownership, was behind the increase.

The grim report comes in the same week that authorities announced they will shut down 468 outdated power generators two months ahead of schedule, part of ongoing efforts to clean up one of the chief sources of pollution by phasing out more polluting and less efficient power plants.

The rise in pollution also calls into question China's ability to curb its greenhouse gases, most of which come from coal-burning power plants and heavy industry, and the efficacy of its ongoing cleanup campaign.

Controlling pollution isn't just a question of improving China's image. The pollution is so bad it's already a drag on economic growth and is affecting the population's health. Back in 2007, the World Bank estimated the total cost of China's air and water pollution was 5.8% of gross domestic product.

中国又是洪灾，又是另一波热浪，好像这些还不足以让人把头埋起来逃避现实，权威机构又证实中国空气质量继续恶化。

AFP/Getty Images北京一办公楼被烟雾环绕。6月份，国家环境保护部在新闻发布会上承认，今年第一季度污染加重，这是2007年来第一次季度污染程度上升。随后环保部周一在其网站上悄然发布报告，宣布了更糟糕的消息：2010年上半年空气质量是2005年以来最差的。

主要起因之一是煤烟等微粒物质大量增加，空气中的煤烟与一系列健康问题有关。113个主要城市中颗粒污染物水平较上年同期的每立方米0.002毫克增加了0.091毫克。

环保部还表示，沙尘暴加剧了空气的恶劣程度。今年污染程度上升直指这一争论，即去年天空湛蓝是经济放缓的副作用，而不是更严格环保政策的结果。

中国国家媒体表示，中国经济复苏是污染程度上升的原因。中国经济复苏严重依赖支持楼市繁荣的钢铁、水泥和电力等行业，另外还由于拥有汽车的人日益增多。

在这份报告出炉的同一周，官方宣布将比计划提前两个月关闭468座过时的发电厂，淘汰污染更严重、效率较低的发电厂，是清理主要污染源头之一的措施的一部分。

污染程度上升还令人质疑中国遏制温室气体的能力，以及持续清理行动的功效。中国多数温室气体来自燃烧煤炭的发电厂和重工业。

控制污染不仅是改变中国形象的问题，污染太严重了，已经拖累了经济增长，并在影响人民群众的身体健康。2007年世界银行（World Bank）估计中国空气污染和水污染的总成本相当于国内生产总值（GDP）的5.8%。