摘要：Certainly, Bismita, we are very concerned because air pollution, as probably many people know by now, represents 7 million prematu

Many countries around the world are experiencing high levels of air pollution.

全球许多国家正经历着高水平的空气污染。

How does that impact our body in times of COVID-19?

在新冠疫情期间，这对我们的身体有何影响？

Talking to us in Science in 5 today is WHO's Dr. Maria Nehra.

今天在《科学5分钟》栏目中与我们对话的是世卫组织的玛丽亚·内拉博士。

Welcome, Maria.

欢迎你,玛丽亚。

My first question to you, how concerned should we be about air pollution and COVID-19?

我的第一个问题是，我们应该对空气污染和COVID-19有多大的担忧？

Certainly, Bismita, we are very concerned because air pollution, as probably many people know by now, represents 7 million premature deaths caused every year due to the exposure of air pollution.

当然，Bismita， 我们非常担忧， 因为空气污染，正如现在许多人可能已经知道的那样，每年导致700万人因暴露于空气污染而过早死亡。

If you realize that exposure to air pollution will increase the risk of diseases of the respiratory system and the COVID-19 is mainly a disease of the respiratory system, you will realize that we are increasing the vulnerability of people who are exposed to air pollution.

如果你意识到， 接触空气污染会增加呼吸系统疾病的风险， 而COVID-19主要是一种呼吸系统疾病，你就会意识到我们正在增加接触空气污染的人的脆弱性。

Therefore, we need to make sure that this double burden is tackled in a very important way, addressing as well the causes of air pollution.

因此， 我们必须确保以极其重要的方式应对这一双重负担，同时也要解决空气污染的根源问题。

Maria, explain to us exactly how air pollution impacts our body.

玛丽亚，请具体解释一下空气污染是如何影响我们身体的。

Well, air pollution is the bad quality of the air we breathed and that bad quality of the air we breath it goes to our lungs.

那么,空气污染就是我们呼吸的空气质量不好,我们呼吸的空气质量不好,它进入我们的肺部。

Through our lungs it will cause already a major damage, increasing the risk of chronic respiratory diseases, lung cancer, obstructive chronic pulmonary diseases, asthma, pneumonia and others.

通过我们的肺部，它已经造成了重大损害，增加了患慢性呼吸系统疾病、肺癌、慢性阻塞性肺病、哮喘、肺炎等疾病的风险。

and from there the very small particles can reach as well the bloodstream affecting as well our cardiovascular system and other organs of course but when we know that in the case of the patients with COVID-19 those who will be more at severe risk of developing illness are those with underlying conditions like high blood pressure or heart diseases or respiratory diseases, we see where air pollution might exacerbate those diseases and making the patients, the population more vulnerable to the disease plus to the severity of developing a more serious illness.

其中，极微小的颗粒物能够进入血液， 同样影响我们的心血管系统及其他器官。 当然，当我们了解到在新冠肺炎患者中， 那些患有高血压、心脏病或呼吸系统疾病等基础疾病的人更容易发展成重症时，我们就能明白空气污染可能如何加剧这些疾病，使患者和整个人群更容易受到疾病侵袭， 并增加发展为更严重病症的风险。

So Maria, people are experiencing a lot of fatigue due to the pandemic.

所以玛丽亚，人们因为疫情感到非常疲劳。

It is also very scary to hear about the impacts of air pollution at the same time.

与此同时，听到空气污染的影响也让人感到非常恐惧。

What can we do to protect ourselves from air pollution as well as COVID-19?

我们该如何同时防范空气污染和新冠病毒呢？

Well, I think for COVID-19, WHO has repeat many times what are the measures we need to take from washing your hands, maintaining a good hygiene, ensuring that you respect the physical distance that is recommending, avoiding the very crowded places where you have a very close contact with other people, ensuring natural ventilation, and the use of masks whenever they are recommended,

but in the case of air pollution the most important recommendation we can say is that in those countries where the levels of air pollution are very high we need to enforce legislation to reduce those levels of air pollution we need to make sure that as citizens we are aware of the fact that air pollution is affecting our health and by doing so requesting our authorities at the city or the country level to tackle the causes of air pollution reducing the emissions and particularly one important one will be stopping burning fossil fuels which are contributing enormously to this air pollution and therefore the the illnesses that exposure to air pollution is causing Thank you, Maria.

对于COVID-19， 世界卫生组织已经多次强调我们需要采取的措施，包括勤洗手、保持良好卫生习惯、遵守推荐的物理距离、避免前往人群密集场所以减少与他人密切接触、确保自然通风， 并在建议时佩戴口罩。 而在应对空气污染方面， 最重要的建议是，在空气污染水平极高的国家，我们需要加强立法以降低空气污染程度。 作为公民，我们应意识到空气污染对健康的危害， 并通过此举要求城市或国家层面的当局采取措施， 解决空气污染的根源，减少排放，特别是要停止燃烧化石燃料， 因为这对空气污染的贡献巨大， 进而导致与空气污染暴露相关的疾病。 感谢玛丽亚的分享。

There you have it, WHO's Dr. Maria Nehra explaining the impact of air pollution and COVID-19 on our bodies.

以上就是世界卫生组织的玛丽亚·内拉博士为我们讲解空气污染和新冠病毒对我们身体的影响。

If you found this content useful, please share it with your friends and help us get WHO's life-saving content and information out to the public.

若您觉得此内容有益，请与朋友分享，并助我们向公众传播世界卫生组织的关键信息与救命知识。

Until next time then, stay safe, stay healthy and stick with science.

那么下次见，请保持安全，保持健康，并坚持科学。

来源：英语东