Record Heat, Wildfires Spread around the World

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Record Heat, Wildfires Spread around the World

Officials from 40 countries met Monday in Berlin, Germany to discuss how to fight climate change as record heat waves and wildfires continue around the world.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres spoke¹ to the gathering² over video link. He warned that the world would not meet its goal of limiting planet warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius³ as agreed to in the 2015 Paris climate agreement.

Antiguan Environment Minister Molwyn Joseph spoke for the developing island nations at risk in the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean. "What it is described as crisis⁴, for us it is catastrophe⁵," he told delegates⁶. "There are small islands that are disappearing."

British official Alok Sharma led the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference in Glasgow last year. He said, "As this meeting is taking place, parts of Europe are baking, indeed they're burning; and sadly, it's an experience that is all too familiar to many millions across the globe already."

Record heat in Europe

In Britain Monday, the government announced "national emergency" conditions because of dangerously high temperatures. By the middle of the day the country reached 35 degrees Celsius and is expected to go as high as 40 degrees.

That would be the highest temperature on record for the country.

Few homes or businesses in Britain have air conditioning since the average July temperatures range from a daily high of 21 degrees Celsius to a low of 12 degrees Celsius.

Kit⁷ Malthouse, a minister in charge of government coordination⁸, told BBC radio, "We've got a difficult 48 hours coming." Meanwhile, train lines canceled services, some schools were closed and officials urged the public to stay home.

The heat wave is felt across Europe leading to wildfires in France and Spain.

In southern France, 1,700 firefighters are battling the wildfires that have already burned 140 square kilometers. Officials said around 20,000 people have been forced from their homes in the Gironde area since last week.

Local fire chief Marc Vermeulen said, "The fire is literally⁹ exploding." He called the situation "extreme and exceptional¹⁰."

In Spain, a firefighter and a sheep farmer died in fires in northwestern Zamora. Thousands of people had to flee their homes. The fires burned 220 square kilometers of forests.

"Climate change kills," Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said Monday during a visit to Extremadura, where firefighters are battling three other major fires. "It kills people, it kills our ecosystems¹¹ and biodiversity," he added.

Spain's Carlos III Institute records daily temperature-related deaths in the country. It reported 237 deaths because of high temperatures from July 10 to 14. That was compared to 25 heat-related deaths the previous week.

Heat warning in the U.S.

Across the Atlantic, the U.S. National Weather Service on Monday issued "dangerous and record-breaking heat" warnings to much of the Great Plains and the South.

The service also warned people in the northern Rockies that strong winds and dry weather conditions could start wildfires in the area.

Over the weekend, firefighters were able to contain wildfires that burned for more than a week in California's famed Yosemite National Park.

In Mariposa Grove¹², the firefighters saved more than 500 giant sequoia¹³ trees from damage, but the area will remain closed to visitors. The giant trees grow to be about 76 meters tall and live more than 3,500 years.

Prolonged¹⁴ heatwave in China, South Asia

In China, the summer heatwaves are expected to return this week across large parts of the country.

The China Meteorological Administration said Sunday that temperatures are expected to reach between 39 to 42 degrees Celsius in the southern area. The heat will last nationwide for an "extended period" of 40 days, up from the usual 30 days.

Just in the past two weeks, the 35-degree temperatures have damaged roads and sickened people.

Since the beginning of March, India, Pakistan and large parts of South Asia have experienced unusually long periods of hot weather.

The Indian Meteorological Department said the month of March was the hottest in India since records began 122 years ago. The agency said temperatures were 3 to 8 degrees Celsius above average, breaking many all-time records. In several Indian states, the temperatures ranged from 40 to 44 degrees Celsius in the last days of March.

The World Weather Attribution is a group of climate scientists that study weather events around the world. It said, "because of climate change" events such as the heatwave in India "increased by a factor of about 30."

The group added that global warming was also the cause of the April rainfall and flooding in South Africa and floods and landslides¹⁵ in Brazil in May.

Words in This Story

catastrophe - n. terrible disaster

bake - v. to cook in an oven

globe - n. the earth

literally - adv. used to stress a statement or description that is true and accurate though it may be surprising

biodiversity - n. the existence of many kinds of plants and animals in an environment

1 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

2 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

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 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 catastrophe   

n.大灾难，大祸

参考例句：

• I owe it to you that I survived the catastrophe.亏得你我才大难不死。
• This is a catastrophe beyond human control.这是一场人类无法控制的灾难。

6 delegates   

代表，代表团成员( delegate的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The conference was attended by delegates from 56 countries. 此次会议有来自56个国家的代表出席。
• Delegates expressed strong opposition to the plans. 代表强烈反对这些计划。

7 kit   

n.用具包，成套工具；随身携带物

参考例句：

• The kit consisted of about twenty cosmetic items.整套工具包括大约20种化妆用品。
• The captain wants to inspect your kit.船长想检查你的行装。

8 coordination   

n.协调，协作

参考例句：

• Gymnastics is a sport that requires a considerable level of coordination.体操是一项需要高协调性的运动。
• The perfect coordination of the dancers and singers added a rhythmic charm to the performance.舞蹈演员和歌手们配合得很好，使演出更具魅力。

9 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

10 exceptional   

adj.优越的，杰出的，例外的，独特的，异常的

参考例句：

• He is a man of exceptional talent.他是位具有非凡才能的人。
• He showed exceptional musical ability.他显示出特殊的音乐才能。

11 ecosystems   

n.生态系统( ecosystem的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There are highly sensitive and delicately balanced ecosystems in the forest. 森林里有高度敏感、灵敏平衡的各种生态系统。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Madagascar's ecosystems range from rainforest to semi-desert. 马达加斯加生态系统类型多样，从雨林到半荒漠等不一而足。 来自辞典例句

12 grove   

n.林子，小树林，园林

参考例句：

• On top of the hill was a grove of tall trees.山顶上一片高大的树林。
• The scent of lemons filled the grove.柠檬香味充满了小树林。

13 sequoia   

n.红杉

参考例句：

• The sequoia national forest is at the southern end of the sierra nevada range.红杉国家公园位于内华达山脉南端尽头处。
• The photo shows the enormous general Sherman tree in California's sequoia national park.照片显示的是加利福尼亚州红杉国家公园内巨大的谢尔曼将军树。

14 prolonged   

a.长时期的；持续很久的

参考例句：

• Prolonged strike action debilitated the industry. 长时间的罢工削弱了这个行业的活力。
• prolonged exposure to harmful radiation 长时间接触有害辐射

15 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。