新加坡遭遇史上最嚴重霧霾天氣大綱
Smog worsened in Singapore on Wednesday to a record hazardous level, as smoke from forest fires in neighboring Indonesia blanketed the island country in one of its worst air-pollution crises.
籠罩在新加坡上空的霧霾週三進一步加重，達到了創紀錄的有害水平。這次霧霾天氣是鄰國印尼森林大火所引發的，也是新加坡遭遇的最嚴重空氣污染危機之一。
Singapore's air quality briefly reached officially designated 'hazardous' levels for the first time when the city's three-hour Pollutant Standards Index, a measure of air quality, peaked at 321 in the late evening. It later slipped back to 218, pointing to 'very unhealthy'' conditions. The spike surpassed the previous peak of 226 in September 1997 during one of Southeast Asia's worst stretches of air pollution.
新加坡的空氣質量週三晚間首次短暫達到了官方認定的“有害”水平，當時新加坡衡量空氣質量的污染物標準指數(Pollutant Standards Index)曾觸及321。該指數基於過去三個小時的數據。指數隨後回落至218，顯示空氣質量“非常不利於健康”。週三晚間的最高值超過了1997年9月份觸及的上一次峯值226，當時東南亞經歷了最嚴重的空氣污染之一。
The pollution was caused mainly by fires on Indonesia's island of Sumatra that were set as a cheap, though illegal, way of clearing land for oil palm plantations. The smog first shrouded Singapore and southern stretches of Peninsular Malaysia over the weekend. Singapore officials have warned that very unhealthy levels of pollution could persist Thursday.
此次污染主要是印尼蘇門答臘島的大火所致。當地人通過燒荒這種違法但是廉價的方式來清理空地用於油棕櫚樹種植，大火因此產生。上週末，霧霾首次侵襲新加坡和馬來西亞半島南岸。新加坡官員警告，非常不利於健康的空氣污染水平可能會持續到週四。
At a hastily called news conference late Wednesday, Vivian Balakrishnan, Singapore's environment minister, said he urged Indonesian authorities to take immediate and concrete action against the haze. A team of Singaporean officials will fly to Indonesia on Thursday to discuss potential remedies.
新加坡環境部長維文(Vivian Balakrishnan)週三晚間在一個緊急召開的新聞發佈會上說，他已敦促印尼當局立刻採取具體行動應對霧霾。一個由新加坡官員組成的小組週四將飛往印尼，討論可能的解決方案。
Continuing fires in Sumatra and slim chances of rain point to persistent haze, Mr. Balakrishnan said, adding officials could shut schools and halt outdoor work activities if air quality worsens further. But he ruled out immediate attempts to seed rain clouds, saying weather conditions weren't favorable.
維文表示，由於蘇門答臘島的大火仍在持續，而且降雨的可能性極低，因此霧霾還將持續。他還說，如果空氣質量進一步惡化，政府可能關閉學校，暫停戶外作業。但他不考慮立即實施人工降雨，稱天氣狀況並不支持這一做法。
Pollution readings in the 51 to 100 range indicate moderate air quality, while 101 to 200 point to unhealthy conditions. Measurements between 201 and 300 represent a very unhealthy status, while reading above 300 indicates hazardous.
污染指數在51至100之間爲空氣質量適中，在101至200之間爲不利於健康，在201至300之間爲非常不利於健康，高於300則爲有害水平。
The minister repeated his criticism of Indonesia's failure to tackle haze pollution, a recurring problem in Southeast Asia due to widespread use of fire to clear forest and peatland, often by palm-oil companies and subsistence farmers. Indonesian officials said they are working to douse the flames and have prepared for possible rain seeding of clouds.
維文重申了他對印尼未能解決霧霾污染問題的批評。霧霾污染問題在東南亞屢屢出現，主要是因爲當地廣泛通過燒荒來清理樹林和泥炭地，而這通常是棕櫚油企業和爲了餬口的農民所爲。印尼官員稱，正在進行滅火工作，並且已經做好人工降雨的準備。
Air quality hit 'dangerous' levels in Indonesia's Riau province, where most of the fires were located, while more districts in Malaysia's southern Johor state were classified as having 'unhealthy' air quality.
印尼廖內的空氣質量已經達到“危險”水平，大多數燒荒所致大火都出現在這裏。馬來西亞南部柔佛州有更多地區的空氣質量達到“不利於健康”的水平。
Malaysia's meteorological office warned of low visibility in southern parts of the Strait of Malacca, which separates the peninsula from Sumatra, saying conditions were dangerous for vessels not equipped with navigational instruments.
馬來西亞氣象部門警告稱，馬來半島與蘇門答臘島之間的馬六甲海峽南部能見度較低，對沒有配備導航儀器的船隻來說，情況比較危險。
In Dumai, a city in Riau province, officials have distributed thousands of masks to help the local populace cope with the pollution.
在廖內省杜邁，官員們已發放數千副口罩，幫助當地人應對空氣污染。
In Singapore, the Guardian pharmacy chain said its sales of N95-level masks─which have at least 95% efficiency in filtering material the size of sodium chloride particles, grains of salt─have surged amid the hazy conditions, with sales Sunday and Monday coming in at seven times that of the preceding week. The chain said it also saw demand spike for eye drops, as Monday's sales jumped by as much as 70% from Sunday.
在新加坡，連鎖藥房Guardian說，在霧霾天氣下，N95級口罩的銷量飆升，週日和週一的銷量是此前一週的七倍。N95級口罩能夠過濾掉至少95%的氯化鈉顆粒大小的污染物。此外，滴眼液的需求也大幅上升，週一的銷量較週日增長了70%。
