VOA慢速英语2021--气候变化使2021极端天气恶化

Climate Change Worsened Weather Extremes in 2021

Extreme weather events in 2021 have broken records around the world. Hundreds died in storms and heatwaves. Farmers struggled with drought, and for some, extreme cases of insects. Wildfires set new records for carbon output. Fires destroyed forests, towns, and homes.

Many of these events were worsened by climate change. Scientists say there are more to come, and worse, as the Earth's atmosphere continues to warm through the next ten years and beyond.

Here are some of the events over the last year:

February:

Kenya and other parts of East Africa battled some of the worst locust¹ plagues in tens of years. A locust is a kind of insect that eats crops. The insects destroyed crops and grasslands² meant for animals. Scientists say that unusual weather worsened by climate change created good conditions for the insects to expand.

March:

Beijing's sky turned orange and flights were grounded during the Chinese capital's worst sandstorm in ten years.

Busloads of volunteers arrive in the desert each year to plant trees, which can help the soil and reduce the effects of wind. Scientists predict climate change will worsen the growth of deserts, or desertification, as hotter summers and drier winters reduce moisture levels.

June:

Hundreds died during a record-breaking heatwave in the United States and the Canadian Pacific Northwest, which scientists said would have been "virtually impossible" without climate change.

Over several days, power lines melted and roads became mis-shapen. Cities struggled to deal with the heat. They opened cooling centers to protect the locals. During the heat wave, Portland, Oregon, hit an all-time record high of 46.7 Celsius³.

July:

Large parts of South America suffered from a prolonged drought. Chile is dealing⁴ with a ten-year-long megadrought linked to climate change. This year, Brazil saw one of its driest years in a century.

In Argentina, the Parana, South America's second-longest river, fell to its lowest level since 1944.

Around the world, heatwaves are happening more often and are becoming more severe.

August:

Nearly all the world's mountain glaciers⁶ are shrinking due to climate change. In the Alps, Swiss hotel workers placed protective cloth over one of Mount Titlis's glaciers during the summer months to keep what ice is left.

Switzerland has already lost 500 of its glaciers. The government said it could lose 90 percent of the 1,500 that remain by the end of the century if world carbon output continues to rise.

September:

Structures and homes in Russia are increasingly in danger as underground permafrost melts and damages the land under them.

Permafrost was once a good building base, in some areas staying frozen as far back as the last Ice Age. Rising world temperatures threaten the permafrost's ice, soil, rocks, sand, and organic matter.

November:

A large storm emptied a month's worth of rain over two days in British Columbia in Canada. It created floods and moving soil that destroyed roads, railroads, and bridges. It is likely the most expensive natural disaster in Canada's history, although officials are still examining the damage.

Meteorologists, or scientists who study the weather, said the rain had come from an atmospheric⁷ river. It is a flow of gaseous⁸ water stretching hundreds of kilometers long from near the equator, the tropics. Scientists say atmospheric rivers are expected to become larger, and possibly more destructive, with climate change.

Words in This Story

drought – n. a long period of time during which there is very little or no rain

plague – n. a large number of harmful or annoying things

moisture – n. a small amount of a liquid (such as water) that makes something wet or moist

virtually – adv. very nearly: almost entirely⁹

glacier⁵ – n. a very large area of ice that moves slowly down a slope or valley or over a wide area of land

permafrost – n. a layer of soil that is always frozen in very cold regions of the world

1 locust   

n.蝗虫；洋槐，刺槐

参考例句：

• A locust is a kind of destructive insect.蝗虫是一种害虫。
• This illustration shows a vertical section through the locust.本图所示为蝗虫的纵剖面。

2 grasslands   

n.草原，牧场( grassland的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Songs were heard ringing loud and clear over the grasslands. 草原上扬起清亮激越的歌声。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Grasslands have been broken and planted to wheat. 草原已经开垦出来，种上了小麦。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 Celsius   

adj.摄氏温度计的，摄氏的

参考例句：

• The temperature tonight will fall to seven degrees Celsius.今晚气温将下降到七摄氏度。
• The maximum temperature in July may be 36 degrees Celsius.七月份最高温度可能达到36摄氏度。

4 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

5 glacier   

n.冰川，冰河

参考例句：

• The glacier calved a large iceberg.冰河崩解而形成一个大冰山。
• The upper surface of glacier is riven by crevasses.冰川的上表面已裂成冰隙。

6 glaciers   

冰河，冰川( glacier的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Glaciers gouged out valleys from the hills. 冰川把丘陵地带冲出一条条山谷。
• It has ice and snow glaciers, rainforests and beautiful mountains. 既有冰川，又有雨林和秀丽的山峰。 来自英语晨读30分（高一）

7 atmospheric   

adj.大气的，空气的；大气层的；大气所引起的

参考例句：

• Sea surface temperatures and atmospheric circulation are strongly coupled.海洋表面温度与大气环流是密切相关的。
• Clouds return radiant energy to the surface primarily via the atmospheric window.云主要通过大气窗区向地表辐射能量。

8 gaseous   

adj.气体的，气态的

参考例句：

• Air whether in the gaseous or liquid state is a fluid.空气，无论是气态的或是液态的，都是一种流体。
• Freon exists both in liquid and gaseous states.氟利昂有液态和气态两种形态。

9 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。