伦敦：后雾都时代

浓雾茫茫，遮天蔽日，行人步履匆匆，咳声此起彼伏。这不是世界末日，也不是雾霾天的北京，而是1952年12月5日的伦敦。那场雾霾夺去了成千上万人的性命，英国政府痛下改革决心，在此后的数十年中一直致力于空气污染的整治。如今的伦敦已不复当年“雾都”的景象，却仍走在治理空气污染的路上。往者可鉴，来者可追。只要污染存在一日，人们探索的脚步就不会停歇。

Imagine smog so thick that you can’t see your feet as you walk through it; so impenetrable that it blots out1） the sun; so toxic that it stings your eyes and leaves you gasping for breath.

It may sound like the backdrop2） to some post-apocalyptic nightmare， but on 5 December 1952， this terrifying scenario became the reality for the people of London. That day’s incident alone killed thousands and prompted a global transformation in the way we deal with air pollution.

On that cold， clear day in 1952， Londoners huddled around their coal fires for warmth. But while the smoke would normally disperse into the atmosphere， an anticyclone3） hanging over the region created an inversion—trapping the pollution close to the ground and leading to the formation of a sulphurous4）， toxic shroud5） that would blanket the capital for the next five days.

Before the weather conditions changed and the smog retreated， thousands had died. Official estimates at the time put the number of fatalities at 4，000—more civilian casualties than were caused by any single incident during the war—while recent research suggests that it may have caused as many as 12，000 deaths.

“Necessary Evil”

“必要之恶”

Although “pea-soupers，” as the smogs were known， had been an unavoidable feature of Britain’s major cities for more than a hundred years， the Great Smog of 1952 was the worst.

It also marked something of a turning point： Until then， people had accepted smog as a necessary evil6）. “In Britain’s coal-fuelled cities， smoke was tolerated for more than a century as a trade-off for jobs and home comforts，” says environmental historian Dr Stephen Mosley. Some even celebrated air pollution as a tangible measure of Britain’s industrial vitality， while the blazing7） coal fire， with all its cosy connotations of “home and hearth8），” was a luxury few were prepared to give up.

Despite growing public pressure to deal with the issue， the government’s reaction was sluggish9）. Initially it even claimed that December’s high mortality was due to a flu outbreak， and seven months elapsed before it eventually ordered an inquiry.

Four years later， in 1956， the Clean Air Act came into force， banning the burning of polluting fuels in “smoke control areas” across the UK.

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