A sandstorm that originated in Mongolia on Tuesday swept through vast swaths of northern China, including Beijing and Tianjin, causing heavy pollution, reducing visibility substantially and disrupting public transportation.
3月21日，起源于蒙古的沙塵暴席卷了包括北京和天津在內(nèi)的中國北方大片地區(qū)，造成嚴重污染，能見度大幅降低，公共交通中斷。
The storm, which according to the National Meteorological Center was the strongest in China so far this year, affected several provincial-level regions. Satellite images showed that by Wednesday morning, it had covered 854,000 square kilometers, roughly twice the size of the US state of California.
據(jù)國家氣象中心稱，這是今年迄今為止中國最強的風暴，影響了幾個省級地區(qū)。衛(wèi)星圖像顯示，截至周三上午，它已經(jīng)覆蓋了85.4萬平方公里，大約是美國加利福尼亞州面積的兩倍。
The affected areas included the Inner Mongolia autonomous region and Hebei, Gansu, Shaanxi, Liaoning, Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces, besides Beijing and Tianjin municipalities. Visibility remained lower than 1,000 meters in some parts of northern China as the NMC issued a yellow alert, the lowest in the three-tier weather warning system.
受影響地區(qū)包括內(nèi)蒙古自治區(qū)、河北、甘肅、陜西、遼寧、吉林和黑龍江，以及北京和天津。在中國北方部分地區(qū)，能見度仍低于1000米，國家氣象中心發(fā)布了黃色預警，這是三級天氣預警系統(tǒng)中最低的預警級別。
The level of PM10 — inhalable particles with diameters of 10 micrometers or less — increased rapidly and reached a peak concentration of 1,667 micrograms per cubic meter around 6 am on Wednesday, according to the Beijing Ecological and Environmental Monitoring Center.
根據(jù)北京生態(tài)環(huán)境監(jiān)測中心的數(shù)據(jù)，PM10 (直徑小于等于10微米的可吸入顆粒) 的濃度迅速上升，并在3月22日早上6點左右達到了1667微克/立方米的峰值。
On days when air quality is good, the PM10 level usually remains below 150 micrograms per cubic meter.
空氣質(zhì)量良好時，PM10水平通常保持在每立方米150微克以下。
The Beijing Center for Disease Prevention and Control issued an advisory on its official WeChat account, urging people with chronic respiratory illnesses to avoid outdoor activities and recommended that commuters wear brightly colored clothes to avoid road accidents amid poor visibility.
北京市疾病預防控制中心在其官方微信公眾號上發(fā)布了一份建議，敦促慢性呼吸道疾病患者避免戶外活動，并建議通勤者穿顏色鮮艷的衣服，以避免在能見度低的情況下發(fā)生交通事故。
The capital's parks suspended operations of boats and cable cars to ensure the safety of visitors.
首都的公園暫停了船只和纜車的運營，以確保游客的安全。
The sandstorm will move southeast and weaken, starting from dusk on Wednesday, the NMC said, adding that the air quality in Beijing is expected to return to "a good level" after that.
國家氣象中心表示，從3月22日黃昏開始，沙塵暴將向東南移動并減弱，并補充說，在那之后，北京的空氣質(zhì)量預計將恢復到“良好水平”。
Hohhot, the capital of the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, maintained an orange alert, the second-highest level in the weather warning system.
內(nèi)蒙古自治區(qū)首府呼和浩特保持橙色預警，這是天氣預警系統(tǒng)的第二高級別。
Zhang Tao, chief forecaster at the NMC, said that strong winds blowing over loose sand and soil particles create the conditions for sand and dust storms.
國家氣象中心首席預報員張濤表示，強風吹過松散的沙子和土壤顆粒，為沙塵暴創(chuàng)造了條件。
Higher temperatures in spring loosen the topsoil, particularly in arid and semi-arid regions. Strong winds blowing over deserts in Mongolia, western Inner Mongolia and Gansu, carry the particles up, Zhang explained.
春季的高溫會使表層土壤變松，尤其是在干旱和半干旱地區(qū)。大風吹過蒙古、內(nèi)蒙古西部和甘肅的沙漠，將這些顆粒帶了上來。
Since the beginning of March, China has experienced four rounds of "dusty weather", which is more than normal, the NMC's chief forecaster said. It is hard to say whether there will be more such weather conditions this spring, but the center will keep close watch in April and May, he added.
國家氣象中心首席預報員表示，自3月初以來，中國已經(jīng)經(jīng)歷了四輪“沙塵天氣”，這比正常情況要多。他補充說，今年春天是否會出現(xiàn)更多這樣的天氣還很難說，但中心將在4月和5月密切關注。
Last spring, northern China had eight rounds of dusty weather. From 2000 to 2021, there were 10.7 rounds of dusty weather on average, according to the 2022 China Climate Bulletin.
去年春天，中國北方出現(xiàn)了8輪沙塵天氣。根據(jù)《2022年中國氣候公報》，從2000年到2021年，平均有10.7輪沙塵天氣。
From 1981 to 2010, Beijing had an annual average of 2.4 days of dust and sandstorms in March. The capital's longest sandstorm of this century lasted for nine days.
從1981年到2010年，北京每年3月的沙塵暴天數(shù)平均為2.4天。北京本世紀持續(xù)時間最長的沙塵暴持續(xù)了9天。
Substantially
英 [s?b?st?n??li] 美 [s?b?st?n??li]
adv. 大量地
concentration
英 [?k?ns(?)n?tre??(?)n] 美 [?kɑ?ns(?)n?tre??(?)n]
n. 濃度
