中韩两国联手“洗”雾霾

中韩两国要联手“洗”走雾霾，可是，洗得掉吗？

 

Air pollution is a major pronblem no matter where you live, but it can get particularly bad in Seoul, the capital of South Korea - and so the government authorities are taking drastic action to try and deal with the smog that settles over the city.

无论你在哪里生活，空气污染都是一大问题，但韩国首都首尔的空气污染问题可能尤其严重，因此韩国政府正采取极端措施尝试解决笼罩着这个城市的雾霾。

 

The latest plan from President Moon Jae-in is to create artificial rain showers to effectively wash the air pollution out of the sky. It’s a strategy we’ve seen before, but there’s still no solid evidence that it actually works.

文在寅总统的最新计划是制造人工降雨来有效地洗掉天空中的空气污染。这是我们之前见过的一项策略，但目前依然没有确凿的证据证明它确实有效。

 

 

 

The idea is called cloud seeding: specific chemicals are released into the air, usually by planes, with the intention of encouraging water droplets to form. The rain that’s created then attracts and pulls polluting aerosol particles out of the sky as it falls.

这一计划被称为云层播雨，通常是由飞机向空气中释放特定的化学物质，旨在促进水滴形成。然后由此形成的雨水吸引着污染的雾气颗粒，在落下的时候把它们拽离天空。至少理论上是这样的。

 

That’s the theory, anyway. Previous experiments have been inconclusive as to whether cloud seeding actually works, and South Korea itself made a failed attempt to force air-clearing showers back in January.

至少理论上是这样的。关于云层播雨是否有效，先前的实验并无定论，而且韩国在一月份曾尝试通过人工降雨来清洗空气，然而却失败了。

 

So far the technique has been used to try and ensure good weather for the Beijing Olympics and to solve water shortages, but specific types of clouds have to be present to begin with in order to give precipitation an artificial boost.

到目前为止，该技术已被用于尝试确保北京奥运会的好天气和解决水资源短缺问题，但首先必须出现特定类型的云，以便人为增加降水。

 

Aside from cloud seeding, there’s also an ongoing debate about the long-term effectiveness of using water to clear away pollution. Rain can clear the air of polluting particles, but to what extent and how effective it can be is something scientists are still investigating.

除了人工降雨，还有一场关于用水净化污染的长期有效性的持续争论。雨水可以净化空气中的污染颗粒，但在多大程度上以及效果如何，科学家们仍在进行研究。

 

 

 

Nevertheless, South Korea is going to give it another go. The project is being undertaken in partnership with China, as a lot of the fine dust particles clogging up the atmosphere are originating from the neighbouring country.

尽管如此，韩国打算再尝试一次。目前韩国在与中国合作实施这一项目，因为充斥在大气中的大量粉尘颗粒源自邻国。

 

Apparently the artificial rain showers will be generated above the Yellow Sea, to the west of the Korean Peninsula.

看来，人工降雨会在朝鲜半岛以西的黄海上空进行。

 

The government is also taking steps to close down older coal-burning power plants, and to make more money available for air purifiers in schools.

政府还在采取措施关闭老旧的燃煤发电厂，并为学校的空气净化器提供更多资金。

 

Whatever the effectiveness or otherwise of using artificial rain to clear away pollution, what’s clear is that action needs to be taken, and fast. According to WHO stats released last year, 93 percent of kids worldwide under 15 are breathing polluted air.

无论使用人工降雨来清楚污染的效果如何，有一点是明确的，那就是必须采取行动，而且要迅速。根据世界卫生组织去年发布的统计数据，全世界15岁以下儿童中有93％的人呼吸受到污染的空气。 

 

Ultimately, combating air pollution in the long term - and all the damage to our health and the natural world that goes with it - is going to involve changes in the way we live and produce our energy.

最终，长期防治空气污染——以及对我们的健康和随之而来的自然世界的所有损害——将涉及我们生活和生产能源的方式的改变。