Stay-at-home Order Does Not Bring Down Mexico City’s Pollution

居家隔离令并未降低墨西哥城的污染程度

Government orders for people to stay home to halt the spread of the coronavirus have resulted in a sharp decrease of vehicle traffic around the world.

政府为阻止新冠状病毒传播而执行的居家隔离令导致全球车辆行驶量急剧下降。

Cities such as Delhi, India, Los Angeles in the United States and Seoul in South Korea all have reported better air quality. But that is not the case with Mexico’s capital, although its traffic has decreased by 60 percent.

印度德里，美国洛杉矶及韩国首尔等城市都报告空气质量有所改善。但墨西哥首都的情况并非如此，尽管其交通量已下降60%。

The official website of Mexico City says that air quality there is “poor.” It warns that exercising at certain times of the day presents a “high” to “very high” health risk. Photographs taken by Reuters last week show a thick haze over the city.

墨西哥城官网称当地的空气质量“很差”。它警告称，一天中特定时间进行锻炼会带来“较高”甚至“非常高”的健康风险。上周路透社拍摄的照片显示，这座城市上方笼罩着浓雾。

Mexico City is about 2240 meters above sea level and is surrounded by mountains. The city and the area around it is home to more than 20 million people.

墨西哥城海拔2240米，四周群山环抱。这座城市及其周围地区拥有超过2000万人。

Most are staying inside their homes, but they have increased the use of gas and other fuels possibly for cooking. Methane gas is released from open-air waste holding areas. In addition, a lot of industrial activity continues. All these things have cancelled the reduction in pollution that was expected from putting the economy on hold.

大多数人都待在自己的房屋内，但他们可能增加了使用天然气和其他燃料进行烹饪的比率。甲烷是露天废物存放区释放的气体。此外，当地仍有很多工业活动还在继续。所有这些因素导致原本因经济停滞或会带来的污染减少的预期化为泡影。

Sergio Hernandez oversees air quality in the city. He told Reuters news agency, “We’re seeing that it’s come down form the peaks, but it’s not enough to bring the air quality below the norm.”

塞尔吉奥·埃尔南德斯负责监督该市的空气质量。他告诉路透社，“虽然较污染高峰已有所下降，但这还不足以使空气污染水平达到正常水平以下。”

Carlos Alvarez is head of Mexico Communication and Environment, an environmental group. He said that there are 400 open-air waste holding areas, or dumps. They release methane gas.

卡洛斯·阿尔瓦雷斯是环保组织“墨西哥通讯与环境组织”的负责人。他说当地有400个露天废物存放区或垃圾场。它们都会释放出甲烷气体。

There also are 50,000 industrial generators in the city. The generators provide electricity to hotels, offices and businesses. Most are still operating. The generators use gasoline or diesel fuel, as do the 350,000 trucks and buses that operate in the area.

该市还有5万台工业发电机。这些发电机为酒店，办公室和企业供电，其中大多数仍在运行。这些发电机的燃料都是汽油或柴油，相当于该地区有35万辆卡车和公共汽车在运营。

Environmental experts say diesel is a leading cause of harmful pollution. Other causes include the state oil company Pemex’s oil processing center in the north, forest fires and ash from the volcano Popocatepetl to the southeast.

环境专家表示，柴油是产生有害污染的主要因素。其他因素还包括墨西哥国家石油公司在该国北部的石油加工中心，森林大火和波波卡特佩特火山到东南部的灰尘。

The air quality in Mexico City is better than it was when the World Health Organization said it was the world’s most polluted city in 1992. But, it is still poor. Bad air quality is linked to high rates of diseases that affect the lungs. Experts warn that COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, could be more dangerous in Mexico City than in other places.

与1992年世界卫生组织评价其为世界上污染最严重的城市时相比，当今墨西哥城的空气质量有所改善。但其空气质量仍然很差。较差的空气质量与肺部疾病的高发有关。专家警告称，在墨西哥城由新型冠状病毒引发的新冠肺炎疾病较其他地方更为危险。

Roxana Trejo takes care of patients infected with the coronavirus at the ABC medical center in Mexico City. “(Pollution) can be a serious issue once you get the disease,” she said.

罗克萨娜·特雷霍在墨西哥城ABC医疗中心照顾被冠状病毒感染的患者。她说：“一旦患上这种疾病，污染问题就会成为一个严重的问题。”

I’m Mario Ritter, Jr.

小马里奥·里特报道。

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