不幸的是，在香港，5月14日是个再平常不过的日子。游客们挤在香港最著名的观景点之一--山顶缆车(Peak Tram)终点站附近的太平山顶(Victoria Peak)观景台上，俯瞰这座浓雾笼罩的城市。
Unfortunately for Hong Kong, May 14 was an utterly ordinary day. Tourists milling at one of the territory's most famous lookout points - the Victoria Peak viewing terrace near the terminus of the Peak Tram - gazed down on a city bathed in heavy smog.
在香港一个少见的晴天拍摄的实景图，展示了这些游客本来能看到的情景：香港著名的港湾--经过无数次填海后，现在看上去就像一条河；尖沙嘴半岛；以及远处的九龙山。
A picture map, snapped on one of Hong Kong's rare clear days, depicted what they should have been able to see: the territory's famous harbour, now resembling a river after numerous land reclamations; the Tsim Sha Tsui peninsula; and the Kowloon hills beyond.
但是，当游客们费力地将地图与眼前的景色对比时，他们透过雾霭，只能勉强认出下面的港湾和尖沙嘴的几栋高楼。九龙山已经彻底消失了。
But as tourists struggled to match the map to the view, only the harbour below and a few tall buildings in Tsim Sha Tsui could be made out through the haze. The Kowloon hills had disappeared completely.
中国游客们转身离开了污染，来到实景图边摆姿势拍照。当他们结束之后，一对法国夫妇将摄像机对准了图片，代替他们看不见的风景。
Turning their backs on the pollution, Chinese tourists posed for photos beside the picture map. And when they were finished, a French couple focused their camcorder on the image, as a proxy for the view they could not see.
在香港，看不见的风景越来越多，雾霭出现的次数是10年前的两倍。去年，香港天文台记录下来的能见度下降的时间为1258小时，是1996年581小时的两倍多。
The invisible view has become increasingly commonplace in Hong Kong, which now experiences twice as much haze as it did a decade ago. Last year the city's observatory recorded 1,258 hours of reduced visibility, more than double the 581 hours of 1996.
雾霭的严重程度，在很大程度上是由这里的气候条件决定的。从历史上看，正是这种气候条件使香港如此适合于航海贸易。每年10月到次年4月，按时刮起的南风，便于来自从西方的船只沿中国海岸北上日本。
The severity of the haze is in large part determined by the conditions that historically made Hong Kong so ideal for the sea-faring trade. Reliable southerly winds from October to April provided easy passage for ships coming from the west and heading up the China coast towards Japan.
从11月到次年4月，从北方刮来的冷锋气流又为船只返程提供了便利。这个避风港提供了休息和与中国内地进行贸易的有利场所。
From November to April a cold front blows in from the north, facilitating the return voyage. The sheltered harbour provided a favourable spot for rest and trade with China's interior.
