A smog-choked province in eastern Pakistan has issued a rare plea for cross-border collaboration with India, as major cities in both countries endure severe air pollution that risks the health of millions.巴基斯坦东部一个被雾霾笼罩的省份已罕见地呼吁与印度开展跨境合作， 因为两国的主要城市都遭受着严重的空气污染，数百万人的健康面临风险。



Officials in Punjab, Pakistan's most populous province of 127 million people, have drafted a letter to the Indian government to open a dialogue on the issue, Punjabi Secretary for Environment and Climate Change Raja Jahangir Anwar said on Monday.旁遮普省是巴基斯坦人口最多的省份，拥有1.27亿人口， 旁遮普省环境与气候变化部秘书拉贾·贾汗吉尔·安瓦尔周一表示， 当地官员已起草一封信致印度政府，希望就此问题展开对话。

"We need climate diplomacy, as a regional and global issue," Anwar told CNN, just days after Punjab's megacity of Lahore, roughly 25 kilometers (15 miles) from the Indian border, saw its highest-ever levels of air pollution.“我们需要气候外交，这是一个地区性和全球性的问题，”安瓦尔在接受美国有线电视新闻网采访时说。就在几天前，旁遮普省的大城市拉合尔 （距离印度边境约25公里）的空气污染达到了有记录以来的最高水平。

"We are suffering in Lahore in a way due to the eastern wind corridor coming from India," he said. "We are not blaming anyone, it's a natural phenomenon."“我们在拉合尔遭受的苦难在一定程度上是由来自印度的东风走廊造成的，”他说。“我们不是在责怪任何人，这是一种自然现象。”

Pollution in northern India and eastern Pakistan ramps up each winter, when an ominous yellow haze blankets the skies due to a combination of farmers burning agricultural waste, coal-fired power plants, traffic and windless days.每年冬季，印度北部和巴基斯坦东部的污染都会加剧， 农民焚烧农业废弃物、燃煤发电厂、 交通以及无风天气等因素相结合，导致天空被不祥的黄色雾霾笼罩。

India and Pakistan have for decades navigated fraught and at times hostile relations, but as the issue of toxic air worsens, the neighbors are being forced to confront their shared responsibility – and fate – when it comes to the climate.几十年来，印度和巴基斯坦一直关系紧张，有时甚至敌对，但随着有毒空气问题日益严重， 这两个邻国在气候问题上不得不正视他们共同的责任和命运。

Lahore, home to more than 14 million people, saw its air quality index surpass a record 1,900 in one part of the city on Saturday, according to IQAir, which tracks global air quality. That's more than six times the level considered hazardous to health.据全球空气质量追踪机构IQAir的数据，拥有1400多万人口的拉合尔周六该市某地区的空气质量指数超过1900， 创下有记录以来的新高， 这一数值是健康危害水平的六倍以上。

The extreme pollution prompted Lahore officials to close primary schools for one week and place restrictions on barbecue restaurants, motorcycle rickshaws, and construction activities.极端污染迫使拉合尔官员关闭小学一周，并对烧烤餐厅、 摩托三轮车和建筑活动实施限制。

In India, air quality in Delhi – which frequently trades places with Lahore as the most polluted city in the world – hit hazardous air quality levels above 500 Saturday and Sunday, partly due to people disregarding a local fireworks ban as they celebrated Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights. However, warmer, breezier weather helped to mitigate the smog.在印度，德里（经常与拉合尔交替成为世界上污染最严重的城市）的空气质量在周六和周日达到了危险级别，空气质量指数超过500， 部分原因是人们在庆祝印度教的光明节（排灯节）时无视了当地的烟花禁令。然而，温暖多风的天气有助于缓解雾霾。

Breathing polluted air leads to increased risk of a host of diseases, including lung cancer, stroke, and heart disease, according to the World Health Organization. Experts say India's air pollution is so bad that smog could take years off the lives of hundreds of millions of people.据世界卫生组织称，呼吸污染空气会增加患包括肺癌、中风和心脏病在内的一系列疾病的风险。专家表示，印度的空气污染非常严重，雾霾可能会导致数亿人的寿命减少数年。

"This is not just a political issue, this is a humanitarian issue," Punjab's Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz said last week. "The winds don't know there's a border in the middle."旁遮普省首席部长玛丽亚姆·纳瓦兹上周表示：“这不仅仅是一个政治问题，也是一个人道主义问题。” “风不知道中间有条边界。”

Air quality worsens in the winter because colder and drier air traps pollution, rather than whisking it away, as warm air does.冬季空气质量恶化是因为寒冷干燥的空气会滞留污染物，而不是像温暖的空气那样将其吹散。

The beginning of winter also coincides with stubble burning season, a time when farmers intentionally set fire to crop debris to clear their fields, sending smoke billowing in the skies.冬季的开始也恰逢秸秆焚烧季节，农民们会故意焚烧作物残茬以清理田地， 导致烟雾弥漫天空。

Both India and Pakistan have tried to clamp down on the practice, but it is still widespread.印度和巴基斯坦都曾试图遏制这种做法，但它仍然普遍存在。

Last month, India's Supreme Court condemned the governments of India's Punjab and Haryana states for failing to crack down on illegal stubble burning. Local officials claim they have reduced the practice significantly in recent years.上个月，印度最高法院谴责印度旁遮普邦和哈里亚纳邦政府未能严厉打击非法焚烧秸秆的行为。当地官员声称，近年来他们已大幅减少了这种做法。

Pakistan's Punjab is providing subsidized super-seeders to farmers to offer alternative methods for disposing of crop residue.巴基斯坦旁遮普邦正在向农民提供补贴的超级播种机，以提供处理作物残茬的替代方法。