导读:自十月以来，北京一直受雾霾的侵袭，空气能见度急剧下降。然而，这种状况可能会持续一个冬天。
Northern regions of the country will confront more frequent and stronger smog this winter due to the impact of the La Nina phenomena, a senior air pollution control official warned.
一名高级空气污染控制官员警告道，受拉尼娜现象的影响，今年，中国北部地区将遭受更频繁、更强烈的污雾。
La Nina is a periodic cooling of the surface of the equatorial Pacific Ocean, which causes abnormal weather patterns.
拉尼娜是赤道太平洋表面的周期性冷却现象，会导致异常的天气模式。
Beijing has experienced four rounds of smog since October, and neighboring cities like Tianjin and those in Hebei province have issued emergency response alerts.
自十月以来，北京已经经历了四场污雾天气，诸如天津和河北省的一些邻近城市已经发布了紧急响应警报。
"La Nina will bring challenges for governments to control smog during the heating season, but the peak this year will not be as high as last year," said Liu Bingjiang, head of the Ministry of Environmental Protection’s atmospheric environment department.
环保部大气环境局局长刘兵将说：“拉尼娜现象会为政府在炎热季节控制污雾带来挑战，但是今年的高峰期不及去年。”
In November and December, many cities including Beijing, and Harbin in Heilongjiang province, saw air quality index readings off the chart.
十一、二月，很多包括北京和黑龙江哈尔滨在内的城市，空气环境指数均下滑了。
Liu said the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region has taken tough measures to reduce emissions. For example, over 500,000 households in the region have changed their energy consumption from coal to gas or electricity, which is forecast to cut the emission of sulfur dioxide and dust by 40,000 metric tons.
刘说，京津冀地区已经采取强硬措施减排。比如，该地区50多万户家庭将能源消耗由煤转变为天然气或电，这预计将减少4万公吨二氧化硫和粉尘排放。
But governments are urged to fully implement the restrictive measures, especially on smoggy days, said Tian Wei-yong, head of environmental monitoring in the ministry.
但是，环境监测部部长田伟勇说，各级政府都敦促全面引入限制措施，尤其在污雾天气时。
The ministry’s inspection teams, which have been in eight smoggy cities since Wednesday, have exposed many companies that were discharging pollutants against government restrictions, Tian said.
田伟勇说，自周三以来，环保部的检查组已经在八个雾霾城市揭发了许多正在违反政府限制排放污染物的公司。
"For the polluters, it’s more than just receiving heavy fines," he said. "Those who falsify monitoring data will face severe punishments from judicial organs."
他说：“对排污方来说，这不仅会收到很重的罚款。那些伪造监测数据的人，将会面临司法机构严重的惩罚。”
Chen Jining, minister of environmental protection, said the revised laws have helped to deter polluters and reduce pollution.
环保部部长陈继宁说，修订后的法律有助于减少污染源，降低污染。
