VOA慢速英语--阿拉斯加最热天气影响动植物

Plants, Animals Affected¹ as Alaska Records Hottest Month

United States government scientists say July 2019 was the hottest month on record worldwide.

The average temperature in July was almost one degree Celsius² higher than the 20th century average of 15.78 degrees. That made it the hottest July on our planet over the past 140 years, according to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric³ Administration, or NOAA.

July 2019 also was the hottest month on record in the northwestern state of Alaska. Sea ice melted. Bering Sea fish swam in above-normal temperatures. So did children in the city of Nome, Alaska.

The state’s wildfire season started early and stayed late. Walruses⁴ and other sea creatures appeared in large numbers along the coast.

Alaska’s average temperature in July was 14.5 degrees Celsius. That is 3 degrees above average, NOAA reported.

Unusual weather events like this could become more common with climate warming, notes climate researcher Brian Brettschneider. He works for the International Arctic Research Center at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

Brettschneider says the state has had “multiple decades-long increases” in temperature. “It becomes easier to have these unusual sets of conditions that now lead to records,” he added.

The effects have been felt from the Arctic Ocean to the world’s largest temperate⁵ rainforest on the Alaskan Panhandle.

Effects of sea ice

Sea ice off of Alaska’s north and northwest coast and other Arctic areas shrank to the lowest level ever recorded for July. That information comes from the National Snow and Ice Data Center at the University of Colorado.

Arctic sea ice for July set a record low of 7.6 million square kilometers. That represents a loss of 80,000 square kilometers -- or about the size of South Carolina -- below the old record low, set in July of 2012.

Sea ice is the home for polar bears and a place for female walruses and their young to rest. Several thousand walruses arrived along the coastline on July 30. That reportedly is the first time they have been observed in such large numbers before August.

Alaska’s wildfire season started in April. July’s dry and hot temperatures extended it. An expected rainy season marked by southwest winds pushing up rainfall did not show up on time, says Tim Mowry of the state Division of Forestry⁶.

“It extended our fire season through the month of July,” Mowry said.

Restrictions⁷ on outdoor burning and water sprinkler use remain in place for the town of Haines, near the Tongass National Forest. July extended drought conditions in the rainforest, according to the International Arctic Research Center.

But the warmer weather has helped Alaska’s farmers. Barley⁸ and other crops are ready to harvest, notes Stephen Brown of the University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension Service.

The good and the bad

The growing season has been extended by a month, and if extra days become usual, they will expand what can be grown in the state. Brown used heat from his driveway to grow fruit not usually grown in the state.

“I’ve got a bumper⁹ crop of tomatoes and jalapenos this summer,” he said.

On the other hand, the weather has not helped Alaska’s birch trees and made them targets of leaf-eating insects.

Brettschneider, the climate researcher, sees mostly negative effects from the hot July and climate warming. Alaska looks the way it does because of its temperatures, he said, and in 50 years, Alaska may look like Idaho.

“We should expect changes. We should expect the forests to be in different locations. We should expect wildlife to move. We should expect plants to move. And in many cases, if they can’t move fast enough, we should expect them to just go away,” he said.

I’m John Russell.

And I'm Jill Robbins.

Words in This Story

according – adv. as stated by or in

multiple – adj. having several or many parts or members

decade – n. a period of 10 years

panhandle – n. a narrow piece of land extending from the main territory of a state into another

sprinkler – n. a device or equipment used for watering grass or other plant life

negative – adj. showing a complete lack of something; involving a bad or unwelcome quality

location – n. an exact place or position

1 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。

2 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。

3 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。

4 walruses   

n.海象( walrus的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Walruses have enormous appetites and hunt for food almost constantly. 海象食欲极大，几乎一直在猎取食物。 来自互联网
• Two Atlantic walruses snuggle on an ice floe near Igloolik, Nunavut, Canada. 加拿大努勒维特伊格卢利克附近，两头大西洋海象在浮冰上相互偎依。 来自互联网

5 temperate   

adj.温和的，温带的，自我克制的，不过分的

参考例句：

• Asia extends across the frigid,temperate and tropical zones.亚洲地跨寒、温、热三带。
• Great Britain has a temperate climate.英国气候温和。

6 forestry   

n.森林学；林业

参考例句：

• At present, the Chinese forestry is being at a significant transforming period. 当前, 我国的林业正处于一个重大的转折时期。
• Anhua is one of the key forestry counties in Hunan province. 安化县是湖南省重点林区县之一。

7 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

8 barley   

n.大麦，大麦粒

参考例句：

• They looked out across the fields of waving barley.他们朝田里望去,只见大麦随风摇摆。
• He cropped several acres with barley.他种了几英亩大麦。

9 bumper   

n.(汽车上的)保险杠；adj.特大的，丰盛的

参考例句：

• The painting represents the scene of a bumper harvest.这幅画描绘了丰收的景象。
• This year we have a bumper harvest in grain.今年我们谷物丰收。