雾霾一般有两种译法：haze 和 smog

haze

haze在很久很久以前，它的意思只是“浓雾”，而工业革命改变了这个词的含义。

从18世界下半叶开始，西方国家逐渐掀起工业革命，以及城市化的推进，出现了烟雾腾腾的城镇，也就是“雾霾”。

smog

smog是个拼合词，由smoke和fog就构成这个单词了。

smoke是“烟”的意思，其实更加接近雾霾的本质，因为从工厂排放出的有毒有害的烟就是smoke.而fog是雾，有雾（fog）也有霾（smoke），那就是雾霾（smog）了。

不过，说到“雾霾”

在这里我们有5个需要辨析的词：

Mist, Fog, Smog, Haze 和Vog

Mist and fog are caused by water droplets in the air, and the only difference is how far you can see. The condition is called being foggy if you are not being able to see more than 1,000 meters in terms of airline industry and more than 200 meters in terms of civilian. If you can see further than that, it is mist.

Mist和fog是由空气中的小水滴造成的，它们俩区分的条件是你能看清楚的距离有多远。

如果你看不到超过1000米的航空视野范围，看不到超过200米的城市视野范围，这种情况被称为fog。

如果您能看到的视野范围更多，那就是mist（薄雾）。

Haze is the reflection of sunlight off air pollution, while smog is mostly made up of ozone. The term smog was first coined in the early 20th century in London to describe the low-hanging pollution that covered the city. And vog only happens when a nearby volcano is releasing sulfur dioxide into the air to react with what’s already there.

Haze是阳光反射空气中的污染物而形成的，而smog主要由臭氧构成。

Smog这个词最早出现于20世纪初的伦敦，用来描述覆盖整个城市的低空污染。Vog只有在附近的火山向空气中释放二氧化硫并与那里的物质发生反应时才会发生。

所以，总的来说，haze和smog都可以指雾霾。

说到“雾霾”，还有一个词我们经常会听到——PM2.5

PM2.5的“PM”是什么？

PM2.5就是指“可入肺颗粒物”，PM的英文全称为particulate matter(微粒物质、悬浮微粒)，PM2.5就是指大气中直径小于或等于2.5微米的颗粒物。

如何谈论雾霾

1.The smog is severe!

雾霾太严重了！

2.When the pollution gets really serious, I can't even see the buildings next to me.

雾霾太严重了，附近的建筑都看不清了。

3.I'm very concerned about my son's health. If the air pollution stays like this, he won't ever be able to leave the house.

我很担心我儿子的健康。如果空气质量一直这么差的话，他就不能去外面玩。

4.Strong cold air is in the forecast to blow away the smog.

天气预报说有强冷空气要来吹散雾霾了。

5.The weather forecast warned of winds of up to 60-miles-an-hour tomorrow.

天气预报说明天有时速高达60英里的大风。

出处：见配图水印