China is to receive a $300m loan from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to help it combat dangerous pollution levels in Beijing city and its surrounding area.

亚洲开发银行通过了给中国的3亿美元贷款，该款项将用于治理和改善北京及其周边地区的环境污染问题。

The ADB said that poor air quality had reached such a serious level that it was "jeopardising health and sustainable growth". The loan is intended to cut the region’s coal use, among other pollution issues.

亚行表示，空气质量达到了如此低的水平以至于威胁首都居民的健康水平和区域的稳定发展。拨出的款额将用于减小区域煤炭的使用等环保事项。

China is the world’s biggest polluter.

中国在世界上污染最大。

The loan will target Beijing city and surrounding areas including Hebie and Tianjin. The region is home to more than 100 million people and accounts for 10% of China’s gross domestic product, the ADB said.

亚洲开发银行表示，划拨出的款项将用于北京及河北、天津等周边地区，这些区域的人口超过1亿多，占10%中国国内生产总值。

"Poor air quality has reached such a serious level that it is jeopardising health and sustainable growth in the capital region," said ADB’s urban development specialist Satoshi Ishii.

“空气质量已经差到如此严重的水平，这危及到首都地区人们的身体健康和经济的稳定发展，”亚行城市发展专家石井辉表示。

"[Our] assistance will help reduce emissions¹ and strengthen the environment regulatory framework and capacity of environmental monitoring and enforcement."Better air quality will benefit the economy and people’s health, both in the region and beyond," he added.

“（我们的）援助将有助于加大减排力度，加强环境监管框架、环境检测和执法能力，良好的空气质量将有益于区域内外的经济发展和人民身体健康。”他补充道。

The bank said in a statement the loan was expected to be accompanied by co-financing from Germany’s KfW Development Bank of 150m Euro($164m). The agreement follows Beijing’s first "red alert" warning over pollution levels earlier this week. It was issued late on Monday and lasted until Thursday, and was the first time that China had declared a red alert under the system, which was adopted a little over two years ago.

亚行在一份声明中表示，预计贷款将与德国复兴信贷发展银行的1.5亿欧元一同发放，此项声明紧随北京首次发布雾霾红色预警发布。此次雾霾红色预警于周一发布，一直持续到周四，这是在采用此系统两年以来中国首次发布雾霾红色预警。

Schools in Beijing were closed, outdoor construction was halted, limits were placed on car use and some factories were ordered to stop operations.

北京的学校停课、户外施工叫停、汽车上路限号、一些工厂被要求停止运作。

Emissions from coal-powered industries, cars and heating systems, together with dust from construction sites all help create the dangerous smog.

煤炭行业、汽车、供暖系统的排放以及建筑施工灰尘都使得雾霾严重化。

When the red alert was declared, the US Embassy’s air pollution monitor in Beijing said the intensity² of the tiny particles known as PM 2.5 were at 291 micrograms per cubic metre.

当红色预警发布后，美国大使馆的空气污染监测器称北京空气中微小颗粒如PM 2.5的浓度为每立方米291微克。

A reading of 25 micrograms per cubic metre is recommended by The World Health Organization as the maximum safe level.

每立方米25微克是世界卫生组织建议的最高安全水平。

Despite large investments in renewable sources, the country still depends on coal for more than 60% of its power.

尽管在可再生能源方面已有大量投资，但在中国，仍有60%的能源依赖于煤炭。