MONGOLIANS PROTEST AIR POLLUTION IN SUB-ZERO WEATHER|空汙問題嚴重 蒙古民眾酷寒上街抗議

Air pollution worldwide has threatened the health of the public and even affected our next generation. On Dec. 26, Mongolians took to the street in under minus 20 degrees Celsius because they were not satisfied with the country's widespread air pollution. Meanwhile, Sarajevo, the capital of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, saw severe haze as well. The streets of Sarajevo are blanketed with severe haze. Passersby wear a variety of masks in addition to heavy winter coats. ==RESIDENT Sarajevo== Clear-headed people are conscious of the severity of the pollution. All my family got ill, from my five-year-old granddaughter to sixty-year-old me. No one dares to go out because they are afraid of getting ill. Therefore, I have to sacrifice myself to go out to buy food and daily necessities. Severe haze in the Balkan city has lingered for more than a week, and the air quality index has been six to ten times higher than normal levels. On Sunday, the authorities took a series of measures including road space rationing based on car number plates, free public transport and the suspension of outdoor construction work, in hopes of a clearer sky. ==MARTIN TAIS air quality expert== For the past 5 to 7 days, the density of fine particulate matter in the air, namely PM10, keeps rising to a very high level. The maximum of the figure is between 50 and 62.5 micrograms per cubic meter. However, the level has hit 300 or 400, even 500 micrograms, a sign meaning severe pollution. Severe air pollution in Sarajevo has to do with its geographical location. Nestled within a valley, the city is surrounded by lingering haze over nearby hills. Meanwhile in the Mongolian capital, Ulaanbaatar, hundreds took to the streets on Dec. 26 as air pollution worsened. Braving chilling winds at minus 20 degrees Celsius, they voiced their concerns over how air pollution had endangered children's health and shortened people's life. According to a UNICEF report, air pollution is one of the three culprits of early death for Mongolian children. This February, the main cause of death for children under the age of 5 in Mongolia, was illnesses triggered by pneumonia and other respiratory infections. Demonstrators called on the government to increase the number of beds for treating children with related illnesses and to reduce air pollution by 80% by 2018. Ulaanbaatar has a population of 13 million and is the coldest capital in the world, where temperatures could drop to minus 40 degrees Celsius in winter. Most of its people live in tents without heating systems and a large number of them keep themselves warm by burning coal, plastics and rubber tires, resulting in severe pollution. TRANSLATED BY：BRYANT CHANG 波士尼亞首都塞拉耶佛街頭，籠罩著厚厚的霧霾，走在路上的行人，標準配備除了厚厚的冬衣，還有各式各樣的口罩。 ==賽拉耶佛居民== 頭腦清楚的人都知道汙染的嚴重性 我家所有人都生病了 從5歲孫女到60歲的我 大家都不敢出門怕生病 我只好犧牲自己 出門買食物跟生活必需品 當地的空汙持續一個多星期，而且空汙指數超標六到十倍。當局星期天祭出一連串措施，包括汽車依照車牌，單雙號分流上路，公共運輸系統提供民眾免費搭乘，以及戶外營造工程全面停工。希望能緩解空汙問題。 ==環保人士 堤客維薩== 過去5到7天 空氣中的細懸浮微粒 PM10的濃度持續上升而且非常高 上限是每立方公尺 50到62.5微克 但這裏已經達到300 400 甚至500微克 汙染相當嚴重 塞拉耶佛空汙嚴重的原因跟地理位置有關，因為座落在谷地，造成霧霾盤聚四周山丘久久不散。另外在蒙古首都烏蘭巴托，26號則是有好幾百人，不滿空汙越來越嚴重，頂著零下20度的刺骨寒風，走上街頭，抗議空汙危害小孩健康、害民眾短命。 根據聯合國兒童基金會的報告，空汙是蒙古兒童早夭的三大原因之一。今年二月蒙古兒童不滿五歲就死亡的主因，多是肺炎跟其他呼吸道感染引發。抗議民眾要求政府增加治療兒童相關疾病的病床，並在2018年之前，將空汙問題減少八成。人口1300萬的烏蘭巴托，是全世界最冷的首都，冬天低溫可到零下40度，由於多數人住在帳篷內，沒有暖氣系統。因此有一半的人是靠燒煤、塑膠、橡膠輪胎等取暖，造成汙染問題相當嚴重。 記者 陳秋玫 報導