VOA新闻杂志2022--专家称南亚洪水“前所未有”

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Experts Call Flooding in South Asia ‘Unprecedented¹’

Scientists say climate change is one reason for early rains that brought major floods to Bangladesh and northeastern India.

Flooding usually takes place later in the year with rain brought in by strong winds called monsoons³.

This year's heavy rainfall came as early as March.

It may take a long time to understand how much climate change played a part in the floods. But scientists say that climate change has made monsoons unpredictable over the past 10 or 20 years. This means that much of the rain expected to fall in a year is arriving in only a few weeks.

The northeastern Indian state of Meghalaya received nearly three times its average June rainfall in just the first three weeks of the month. Neighboring Assam received double its monthly average in the same period. Several rivers flow from the two states into the Bay of Bengal in Bangladesh.

Bangladesh's Flood Forecast and Warning Center warned recently that water levels would remain dangerously high in the country's northern areas.

Roxy Matthew Koll is a climate scientist at the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology in Pune. He said the monsoons have been changing since the 1950s. There have been longer periods of dry weather mixed with periods of heavy rain. Koll added that extreme rainfall events were also expected to increase.

Until now, floods in northeastern Bangladesh were rare. Assam state usually faces floods later in the year during the usual monsoon² season. Anjal Prakash is a research director at India's Bharti Institute of Public Policy. He said the amount of early rain this year makes the current floods an "unprecedented" situation.

"This is something that we have never heard of and never seen," he said.

Bangladesh's Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina recently said the country had not faced such a crisis⁴ in a long time. She noted⁵ that the water coming from Meghalaya and Assam in India had affected⁶ the Sylhet area in northeastern Bangladesh.

Hasina said that floodwaters would go away soon from the northeast. But the water would likely hit the country's south on the way to the Bay of Bengal.

"We should prepare to face it," she added.

At least 42 people have died from floods in Bangladesh since May 17. Indian officials reported that flood deaths have risen to at least 78 in Assam state. Seventeen others were killed in landslides⁷.

Hundreds of thousands of people are displaced⁸. Millions in the area have been forced to move into evacuation centers.

Bangladesh is one of the countries considered most at-risk to flooding and the poor are strongly affected.

Mohammad Arfanuzzaman is a climate change expert at the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. He said that floods like the one this year could have widespread effects. Farmers could lose their crops and be forced into debt. Children might not be able to go to school and could face an increased risk of disease.

"Poor people are suffering a lot from the ongoing⁹ flooding," he said.

Words in This Story

unprecedented – adj. not done or experienced before

evacuation – n. the removal of persons or things from an endangered area

1 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。

2 monsoon   

n.季雨，季风，大雨

参考例句：

• The monsoon rains started early this year.今年季雨降雨开始得早。
• The main climate type in that region is monsoon.那个地区主要以季风气候为主要气候类型。

3 monsoons   

n.（南亚、尤指印度洋的）季风( monsoon的名词复数 )；（与季风相伴的）雨季；（南亚地区的）雨季

参考例句：

• In Ban-gladesh, the monsoons have started. 在孟加拉，雨季已经开始了。 来自辞典例句
• The coastline significantly influences the monsoons in two other respects. 海岸线在另外两个方面大大地影响季风。 来自辞典例句

4 crisis   

n.危机，危急关头，决定性时刻，关键阶段

参考例句：

• He had proved that he could be relied on in a crisis.他已表明，在紧要关头他是可以信赖的。
• The topic today centers about the crisis in the Middle East.今天课题的中心是中东危机。

5 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

6 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

7 landslides   

山崩( landslide的名词复数 )； （山坡、悬崖等的）崩塌； 滑坡； （竞选中）一方选票占压倒性多数

参考例句：

• Landslides have cut off many villages in remote areas. 滑坡使边远地区的许多村庄与外界隔绝。
• The storm caused landslides and flooding in Savona. 风暴致使萨沃纳发生塌方和洪灾。

8 displaced   

移动( displace的过去式和过去分词 )； 替换； 移走； 撤职

参考例句：

• Gradually factory workers have been displaced by machines. 工厂的工人已逐渐被机器取代。
• He was displaced by another young man. 他已被另一个年轻人顶替。

9 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。