时代周刊:极端天气频发敲响气候变暖警钟(2)

The IPCC report, a collaboration¹ among 234 authors, cites more than 14,000 studies and references, covering all the shifts that are occurring in the environment, from the way water circulates to the level of moisture in soil.

IPCC的这份报告由234位作者合作完成，引用了超过1.4万份研究和参考文献，涵盖了环境中发生的所有变化，从水的循环方式到土壤中的水分水平。

At the core of all these changes is heat.

所有这些变化的核心是高温。

Global average temperatures have ticked up about 1.1°C since the Industrial Revolution, according to the IPCC, but that seemingly small number obscures the enormous and immediate² spikes³ in temperature in particular places.

IPCC的数据显示，自工业革命以来，全球平均气温上升了约1.1摄氏度，但这一看似很小的数字掩盖了某些地区气温急剧上升的事实。

Heat waves that bring high temperatures that extend for days have become more frequent, and some areas, particularly vulnerable regions like the Arctic, are warming faster than others.

热浪带来的持续数天的高温变得越来越频繁，一些地区，尤其是像北极这样脆弱的地区，比其他地区变暖的速度更快。

These higher temperatures have a range of trickle-down effects: an altered jet stream, more intense drought and even increased precipitation, to name a few.

这些更高的温度有一系列的涓滴效应，比如急流的改变、更严重的干旱、甚至降雨量的增加。

Any one of those ripple⁴ effects would create serious problems if it struck on its own, but when multiple ones land at the same time, the result is exacerbated⁵.

这些连锁反应中无论哪一个单独发生了，都会造成严重的问题。但当多个连锁反应同时发生时，结果会加剧。

That's what is happening right now in the Western U.S., where residents are experiencing what the IPCC has called a "compound extreme event."

这就是现在美国西部正在发生的事情，那里的居民正在经历IPCC所称的“复合极端事件”。

Heat has evaporated the water supply for farmers and ranchers—not to mention local communities.

高温蒸发了农民和牧场主的水源，更不用说当地社区了。

States have reported hundreds of excess deaths as bodies collapse⁶ without air-conditioning in unmanageable temperatures.

据各州报告，由于没有空调，很多人在极端高温下晕倒，已致数百人死亡。

And heat has led to drought, which has dried up forests and created tinder for wildfires.

高温造成了干旱，导致森林干涸，引发了野火。

"It's the combination of heat waves, drought conditions and also windy conditions that allow fire propagation," says Paola Andrea Arias⁷ Gomez,

政府间气候变化专门委员会的合著者、哥伦比亚安蒂奥基亚大学环境学院副教授保拉·安德里亚·阿里亚斯·戈麦斯说：

an IPCC co-author and associate professor at the school of the environment at the University of Antioquia in Colombia. That's led to record numbers.

“是热浪、干旱和多风条件的综合作用致使火势蔓延。”火势创下纪录。

Last year California experienced the worst fire season on record; this year the state has experienced nearly three times the acreage burn compared with the same point in 2020.

去年加州经历了有记录以来最严重的火灾季节。与2020年相比，今年该州的燃烧面积大了近三倍。

1 collaboration   

n.合作，协作；勾结

参考例句：

• The two companies are working in close collaboration each other.这两家公司密切合作。
• He was shot for collaboration with the enemy.他因通敌而被枪毙了。

2 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

3 spikes   

n.穗( spike的名词复数 )；跑鞋；（防滑）鞋钉；尖状物v.加烈酒于( spike的第三人称单数 )；偷偷地给某人的饮料加入（更多）酒精（ 或药物）；把尖状物钉入；打乱某人的计划

参考例句：

• a row of iron spikes on a wall 墙头的一排尖铁
• There is a row of spikes on top of the prison wall to prevent the prisoners escaping. 监狱墙头装有一排尖钉，以防犯人逃跑。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 ripple   

n.涟波，涟漪，波纹，粗钢梳；vt.使...起涟漪，使起波纹； vi.呈波浪状，起伏前进

参考例句：

• The pebble made a ripple on the surface of the lake.石子在湖面上激起一个涟漪。
• The small ripple split upon the beach.小小的涟漪卷来，碎在沙滩上。

5 exacerbated   

v.使恶化，使加重( exacerbate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The symptoms may be exacerbated by certain drugs. 这些症状可能会因为某些药物而加重。
• The drugs they gave her only exacerbated the pain. 他们给她吃的药只是加重了她的痛楚。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

7 arias   

n.咏叹调( aria的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Can you pick out the operatic arias quoted in this orchestral passage? 你能听出这段管弦乐曲里有歌剧式的咏叹调吗？ 来自辞典例句
• The actions are large and colour, there are arias and recitatives. 动作夸张而华美，有唱段也有宣叙部。 来自辞典例句