OSLO, July 8 (Reuters) - Air pollution is shortening the lives of people in northern China by about 5.5 years compared to the south,, an international study shows.

路透社奥斯陆7月8日 - 一项国际研究发现，空气污染使得中国北方人口的寿命比南方人口短约5.5岁。

Environmental problems are a source of rising social discontent in China; last month Beijing promised new measures to crack down on air pollution, partly by hastening a shift to renewable energy from fossil fuels.

在中国，环境污染已成了激发民愤的重要因素。上月中国政府出台新政策治理空气污染，包括加速从化石燃料转向可再生能源。

The report, by experts in China, the United States and Israel, said a communist policy of giving out free coal everywhere north of the Huai River in central China between 1950 and 1980 meant more heart and lung disease among 500 million people living in the area.

此项研究由来自中国、美国和以色列的专家完成。1950-1980年时期，中国政府在淮河以北地区通过为锅炉供应免费的煤炭燃料，从而为家庭和企业提供免费的冬季供暖。研究报告指出，这导致北部地区人口的心肺疾病发病率上升。

"Life expectancies are about 5.5 years lower in the north owing to an increased incidence of cardio-respiratory mortality," the researchers wrote in Tuesday's edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

研究人员周二在《美国科学院院报》（PNAS）撰文称：“（中国）北部地区人口寿命要低出5.5岁左右，因心肺疾病导致的死亡率上升。”

Studying pollution and deaths in 90 cities, the experts found that life expectancy tumbled just north of the Huai River, where air pollution from burning coal was 55 percent higher than to the south between 1981 and 2000.

专家研究了90个城市的污染和死亡率，发现以淮河为界，往北地区的人口寿命明显下降，而1981-2000年期间，该地区因燃煤导致的空气污染较南方高出55%。

"The analysis suggests that the Huai River policy, which had the laudable goal of providing indoor heat, had disastrous consequences for health," the study said.

研究指出，淮河以北用煤炭进行冬季供暖的政策，对公共健康造成了严重后果。

The scientists said the findings, which firmly link air pollution to life expectancy, might help emerging economies such as China, India or Brazil to find better ways to combine a drive for economic growth with environmental controls.

科学家指出，此项研究的发现或许有助于中国、印度或巴西等新兴经济体寻求更好的方法，兼顾经济增长与环境保护。

The World Health Organization says that about 2 million people die every year from air pollution, mostly in developing countries. Cities such as Karachi, New Delhi, Kathmandu, Beijing, Lima and Cairo are among the most polluted, it says.

世界卫生组织（WHO）称，每年约有200万人死于环境污染，多数在发展中国家。而卡拉奇、新德里、加德满都、北京、利马和开罗在污染最严重的城市行列。

Even in Europe, for instance, air pollution shortens average life expectancy by 8 months, said Anke Luekewille, an expert at the European Environment Agency in Denmark, although pollution levels have fallen considerably in recent decades.

欧洲环境署专家Anke Luekewille指出，即便在欧洲，空气污染也导致人口平均寿命缩短8个月，尽管近几十年空气污染情况已明显改善。