VOA科学技术2023--Study: Extreme Dry Condition in Syria, Iraq, Iran due to Climate Change

Study: Extreme Dry Condition in Syria, Iraq, Iran due to Climate Change

A three-year drought has left millions of people in Syria, Iraq, and Iran with little water. A new study says it would not have happened without human-caused climate change.

The west Asian drought started in July 2020. The new study found that it is mostly because hotter-than-normal temperatures are evaporating the little rainfall that fell.

The study is by a team of international climate scientists at World Weather Attribution, a group that researches extreme weather events.

Friederike Otto, an Imperial College of London climate scientist, is the lead writer of the study. She said that without the world warming 1.2 degrees Celsius¹ since the mid-19th century, "it would not be a drought at all."

It is a case of climate change unnaturally² intensifying³ naturally dry conditions into a humanitarian⁴ crisis that has left people without food, water, and housing, the study says.

Other scientists have yet to confirm if the methods used in this study are correct, in a process called peer review. But it follows scientifically correct methods to look for the signs of climate change.

The team looked at temperature, rainfall, and moisture levels. And they compared what happened in the last three years to many different computer models of the conditions in a world without human-caused climate change.

"Human-caused global climate change is already making life considerably⁵ harder for tens of millions of people in West Asia," said study co-writer Mohammed Rahimi. He is a professor of climate studies at Semnan University in Iran. "With every degree of warming Syria, Iraq and Iran will become even harder places to live."

Computer models did not find any considerable signs of climate change in the reduced rainfall, which was low but not too rare, Otto said. But evaporation⁶ of water in lakes, rivers, wetlands, and soil "was much higher than it would have been" without climate change-increased temperatures, she said.

The study writers found that the drought conditions in Syria and Iraq are 25 times more likely because of climate change, and in Iran, 16 times more likely.

Kelly Smith of the U.S. National Drought Mitigation Center in Nebraska, who was not part of the study, said the research made sense.

Drought is not unusual to the Middle East area. And conflict, including Syria's civil war, makes the area even more likely to have a drought because of weakened water systems, said study co-writer Rana El Hajj. She is with the Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Center in Lebanon.

"This is already touching⁷ the limits of what some people are able to adapt to," Otto said. She said as long as we keep burning fuels that affect climate change and give out new permits to explore new oil and gas fields, these kinds of events will only get worse. She added that this will continue to destroy lives and keep food prices high.

She said, "And this is not just a problem for some parts of the world, but really a problem for everyone."

Words in This Story

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

humanitarian – adj. describing an event or situation that causes or involves a lot of human suffering, especially one that requires aid to be provided to a large number of people

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

global – adj. involving the entire world

 

adapt – v. to change your behavior so that it is easier to live in a particular place or situation

1 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。

2 unnaturally   

adv.违反习俗地；不自然地；勉强地；不近人情地

参考例句：

• Her voice sounded unnaturally loud. 她的嗓音很响亮，但是有点反常。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Her eyes were unnaturally bright. 她的眼睛亮得不自然。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 intensifying   

v.（使）增强， （使）加剧( intensify的现在分词 )；增辉

参考例句：

• The allies are intensifying their air campaign. 联军部队正加大他们的空战强度。 来自辞典例句
• The rest of the European powers were in a state of intensifying congestion. 其余的欧洲强国则处于越来越拥挤的状态。 来自英汉非文学 - 历史

4 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

5 considerably   

adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上

参考例句：

• The economic situation has changed considerably.经济形势已发生了相当大的变化。
• The gap has narrowed considerably.分歧大大缩小了。

6 evaporation   

n.蒸发，消失

参考例句：

• Be careful not to lose too much liquid by evaporation.小心不要因蒸发失去太多水分。
• Our bodies can sweat,thereby losing heat by evaporation.我们的身体能出汗，由此可以蒸发散热。

7 touching   

adj.动人的，使人感伤的

参考例句：

• It was a touching sight.这是一幅动人的景象。
• His letter was touching.他的信很感人。