Pakistan's worst ever smog: BBC Learning English from the News

From BBC Learning English,

this is Learning English from the News, our podcast about the news headlines.

In this programme,

Pakistan's smog is so bad you can see it from space.

Hello, I'm Beth. And I'm Neil.

In this programme, we look at one big news story

and the vocabulary in the headlines that will help you understand it.

You can find all of the vocabulary and headlines from this episode,

as well as a worksheet, on our website,

bbclearningenglish.com.

OK, so let's hear about this story.

The smog in Lahore is at its worst level ever,

seriously affecting the health of its 13 million residents.

The word smog is a combination of the words smoke and fog.

Smog can cause a sore throat, burning eyes, dizziness,

chest tightness and coughing.

People have been told to stay indoors, schools are closed

and vehicles have been banned from the worst affected areas.

The air quality index in the city has recently reached over 1,000.

Anything above 300 is considered dangerous.

Let's have our first headline.

This comes from BBC News

and it is: Pictures from space show mighty smog choking Lahore.

And that headline again: Pictures from space show mighty smog choking Lahore.

And that's from BBC News.

Now this headline says you can see how the mighty smog is choking Lahore

from space.

Mighty means very strong, but we're looking at choking.

And choking is a very serious thing, isn't it, Beth?

What does it mean?

Well, choke as a verb, has two main meanings.

One is not being able to breathe because of something blocking your throat.

So imagine a child choking on a small piece of food.

It's very dangerous and the child will have to cough to push the food out

to be able to breathe again.

And the other meaning is the act of stopping someone from breathing

as a way of often attacking or even killing them, using the hands.

And our headline has this second meaning - 'Smog is choking Lahore'.

Yes, it's like the smog has metaphorical hands

and is trying to choke or kill the population.

That's how it feels in the city. And we should

also add that it's possible to use choke just to mean block.

So, for example, the traffic was so heavy it was choking the roads.

We've had choke – stop someone breathing. For example,

The smoke from the fire was so thick it was choking the crowd.

This is Learning English from the News, our podcast about the news headlines.

Today we're talking about the smog in Pakistan.

It is

common for Lahore to have smog in winter,

but this year it's worse than usual.

Yes, the main cause of this year's smog is a higher number of illegal fires,

which farmers in Pakistan

and neighbouring India used to burn their crops quickly and cheaply.

Other causes are pollution from coal-fired factories and heavy traffic.

Smog is especially bad in the winter because colder

and drier air traps pollution rather than lifting it away like hot air

does when it rises.

So let's have another headline.

This comes from the website of the charity, Save the Children:

Half of children in Pakistan out of school for second time this year

as air pollution hits new highs.

That headline again:

Half of children in Pakistan out of school for second time this year

as air pollution hits new highs.

And that's from the website of the charity, Save the Children.

This headline is about the pollution being so high

that children can't go to school.

And we're looking at this phrase hits new highs.

So, Beth, can you break that down for us?

Yes.

Well, imagine I have a thermometer to measure temperature.

As the temperature gets hotter and hotter,

the line on the thermometer will get higher.

Now hits means reaches.

So when something hits new highs, the record reaches its highest level ever.

So hit a new high is like breaking a record.

Here the headline is talking about air pollution being at the highest level,

the worst it's ever been.

It's hit a new high.

Yes. And there are other ways of saying this too.

We can say that something 'soars to an all time high' or 'hits a record

high'. And

these phrases can be used to talk about all sorts

of things that don't always have to be negative.

For example, I could say viewing figures for the TV show hit

a new high last week.

The show's producers are amazed.

We've had hits

new highs – reaches higher than ever before.

For example, She's excited because her company's value has hit new highs.

This is Learning English from the News, our podcast about the news headlines.

Today we're talking about smog in Lahore, Pakistan.

Now, smog is obviously an environmental problem,

but it's not the same as climate change.

Smog is pollution in one area and only at certain times of the year,

and it's made of toxic particles and gases in the air.

Climate change, though, is a constant global issue where greenhouse gases stay

in the atmosphere and raise the Earth's temperature.

Now our next headline is about this difference.

It's from UCA news – The blurred lines between smog and climate change.

That headline, again from UCA news – The blurred lines

between smog and climate change.

This headline says there are blurred lines between smog and climate change,

and we're looking at blurred lines.

Let's start with blur.

Now, Neil, you wear glasses.

If you don't have them on, then what happens?

Well, I'll just take them off now.

Everything, Beth, is blurry.

I can't really see clearly.

OK, so this headline talks about blurred lines.

If the lines are blurred or blurry, then it's hard to see them clearly,

or it's hard to see where one line ends and another begins.

So this expression means that the distinction between things isn't clear,

or it's hard to see the truth of a situation.

Yes, and in the headline,

blurred lines refers to the confusion between smog and climate change.

They're both similar but are tackled in different ways,

so it can be hard to distinguish.

Smog is an urgent issue that needs local solutions,

while climate change requires more long term policies.

OK, now it's possible to change this expression but keep the same meaning.

We can say that something blurs the lines between two things.

For example, I'm reading a book

at the moment that blurs the line between fact and fiction.

We've had blurred lines – a distinction that is difficult to see.

For example, Some say there's a blurred line between love and hate.

That's it for this episode of Learning English from the News.

We'll be back next week with another news story.

If you've enjoyed this programme

and are interested in stories about the environment,

we have a special page full of programmes all about climate change.

Find it at bbclearningenglish.com

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Just search for BBC Learning English.

Thanks for joining us and goodbye. Bye!