Air pollution prematurely killed 1,600 people in Hong Kong during the first half of this year, according to a new study out by the Clean Air Network, which blames such deaths on surging levels of local pollution.

香港非营利环保组织“健康空气行动”(Clean Air Network)发布的新研究显示，今年上半年，香港空气污染导致1,600人过早死亡。报告将这些死亡案例归咎于当地污染水平飙升。

Many in Hong Kong have long liked to blame the city's poor air quality on noxious fumes wafting from the maze of factories across the border in mainland China. However, air quality data for the first-half of this year show that not only have Hong Kong's smog levels worsened, but the fault largely lies with local pollution sources such as the city's ageing vehicles.

香港很多人长期以来都爱将这座城市糟糕的空气质量归咎于从毗邻香港的大批中国内地工厂飘过来的有毒烟尘。然而今年上半年的空气质量数据不仅显示香港雾霾程度加剧，而且罪魁祸首主要是本地污染源，比如该市老旧的车辆。

Clean Air Network, a Hong Kong-based environmental non-profit organization, says the city's old, dirty vehicles are causing its residents to choke. In the crowded commercial districts of Central and Western, which include the city's financial center as well as some of its most congested streets, levels of nitrogen dioxide, a key air pollutant, jumped 22%, according to their review (in Chinese) of the city's air quality. Their analysis found that such levels of pollution exceed World Health Organization-recommended safe limits by more than 60%.

健康空气行动说，香港老旧车辆污染环境，令居民窒息。香港中西区等拥挤的商业区既是该市金融中心，又有一些最为拥堵的街道。健康空气行动对香港空气质量的检测显示，这些地方的主要空气污染物二氧化氮的浓度上升22%。他们的分析发现，这样的污染水平比世界卫生组织(World Health Organization)推荐的安全上限高出60%以上。

Clean Air Network Chief Executive Officer Sum Kwong says pollution levels in Tung Chung--an outlying area that she says is influenced more by the overall regional air quality in the Pearl River Delta--have actually improved across the board, dropping by as much as 13% for certain types of pollutants.

健康空气行动行政总裁邝芯妍说，东涌的污染情况事实上出现了整体改善，某些污染物浓度至多下降了13%。东涌是香港较为偏远的地区，邝芯妍说，这里更多地受到珠江三角洲地区整体空气质量的影响。

'Basically this shows that the pollution nowadays in Hong Kong is definitely roadside and definitely from local sources, and so the Hong Kong government has to do something,' said Ms. Kwong.

邝芯妍说，基本上这种情况显示出当前香港的污染肯定是路边污染，肯定是来自本地污染源，港府应该有所行动。

Earlier this month, a study in mainland China found that poor air quality cut lifespans by more than five years. Even short-term exposure to high levels of air pollution can help trigger heart failure, arrhythmias and stroke.

本月早些时候，中国内地一项研究发现，恶劣的空气质量导致人们减寿五年多。即使是短期置身于高度污染的空气中也可能引发心力衰竭、心律失常和中风。

Old, diesel-fueled lorries spew out some of the city's most toxic air, and Hong Kong's government last year proposed a $1.3 billion scheme to help truck drivers buy new ones. But such a proposal doesn't address the city's aging taxi fleet, which has also fueled the problem. While Hong Kong recently introduced a dozen electric cabs, much of the city's iconic red taxis are in dire need of an upgrade, Ms. Kwong says.

老旧的柴油动力卡车喷出的尾气是香港的毒害物来源之一，香港政府去年提出了一个耗资13亿美元的项目，帮助卡车司机购买新车。但这个项目没有针对该市的老旧出租车，后者也加剧了污染问题。邝芯妍说，虽然香港近期推出了十几辆电动出租车，但该市标志性的红色出租车有很大一部分亟需升级。

A decade ago, Hong Kong's old diesel cabs were scrapped in favor of those using cleaner-burning LPG fuel, a move widely praised at the time. 'Today they're a lot better, more environmentally friendly,' says Wong Cheung Keung, president of the Hong Kong Taxi and Public Light Bus Association.

10年前，香港的老式柴油动力出租车被废弃，代之以使用更清洁的液化石油气燃料的出租车，这一举措当时受到广泛称赞。香港的士小巴商总会(Hong Kong Taxi and Public Light Bus Association)会长王仲强说，现在的出租车好多了，更为环保。

However, Ms. Kwong says many of the catalytic converters attached to such vehicles have been in use for years and need to be replaced, says. Otherwise, such devices--which filter pollutants from vehicle exhaust and typically last only a handful of years--will 'just have no function, ' she says.

然而邝芯妍说，这些车辆上安装的许多催化转换器都已经使用多年，需要更换。她说，否则的话，这些装置就毫无用处。催化转换器的作用是过滤汽车尾气中的污染物，通常只能用几年。

The government agrees. Last month, it said it plans to subsidize taxi and bus owners in a one-off scheme to replace such converters starting later this year.

香港政府同意这一看法。上个月，政府表示计划从今年晚些时候开始向出租车和巴士车主提供一次性补贴，更换这种转换器。

In the meantime, both Ms. Kwong and Mr. Wong say the government should do still more to clean up the city's air. 'The government should provide us with more incentives to support taxi drivers to change,' said Mr. Wong, adding that the government should offer subsidies to encourage taxi drivers--and not just truck drivers--to purchase newer vehicles to help keep the city's air clean.

与此同时，邝芯妍说王仲强都说，政府应当加大力度净化空气。王仲强说，政府应当为我们提供更多的刺激政策，鼓励出租车司机改变，还说政府应当提供补贴，鼓励出租车司机──而不仅仅是卡车司机──购买新车，以保持香港的空气清洁。