VOA慢速英语2020 北极"着火了" 创记录高温令科学家忧心不已

The Arctic¹ Is 'on Fire,' Record Heat Alarms Scientists

北极"着火了" 创记录高温令科学家忧心不已

Over the weekend, the Russian town of Verkhoyansk in Siberia reported a temperature of 38 degrees Celsius².

上周末，位于西伯利亚地区的俄罗斯小镇维科扬斯克的气温达到38摄氏度。

The World Meteorological Organization said Tuesday that it is looking to confirm that temperature reading. After all, Siberia is known for being frozen³.

世界气象组织周二表示，他们正在努力确认这一温度读数。毕竟，西伯利亚以冰冻著称。

Experts are worried about what this record high temperature in the Arctic Circle might mean for the rest of the world.

这一北极圈内的创记录高温对世界其他地区的意义令专家感到担心。

The environmental group Berkeley Earth reported that from January through May, the average temperature in north-central Siberia was been about 8 degrees Celsius higher than normal. "That's much, much warmer than it's ever been over that region in that period of time," said Berkeley Earth climate scientist Zeke Hausfather.

环境组织“伯克利地球”报告称，从1月至5月，西伯利亚中北部地区的平均气温比正常值高出约8摄氏度。伯克利地球组织的气候科学家泽克·豪斯法瑟表示，“这一温度比那段时期该地区以往的温度都要高出很多。”

Jonathan Overpeck is a climate scientist with the University of Michigan. He said "alarm bells should be ringing" because such extended warmth in Siberia has not been seen for thousands of years. In an email to The Associated Press, Overpeck described the Arctic as "on fire."

乔纳森·奥弗帕克是密歇根大学的气候科学家。他表示，“应该敲响警钟”，因为西伯利亚数千年来从未出现过如此温暖的气候。在发给美联社的电邮中，奥弗帕克称北极“着火了”。

"It's warming much faster than we thought it would in response to rising levels of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere," he wrote.

他写道，“随着大气中二氧化碳和其他温室气体水平的不断上升，气候变暖的速度远比我们想象的要快得多。”

The temperature on Earth has been growing, on average, by 0.18 degrees Celsius every 10 years. In the Russian Arctic Circle, it has been increasing by 0.69 degrees Celsius, said Andrei Kiselyov. He is the lead scientist at the Moscow-based Voeikov Main Geophysical Observatory⁴.

地球温度平均每10年升高0.18摄氏度。安德烈·基塞约夫表示，俄罗斯北极圈的温度已经上升了0.69摄氏度。他是莫斯科沃耶伊科夫地球物理主观测站的首席科学家。

The increasing temperatures in Siberia have been linked to wildfires and the melting of ice on land forms known as permafrost. The melting permafrost, in turn, releases more heat-trapping gas, dries out soil and increases wildfires.

西伯利亚地区不断升高的气温与野火以及“永久冻土”地貌上的冰融化有关。而融化的永久冻土会释放出更多热量，使土壤干燥，野火增多。

"In this case it's even more serious, because the previous winter was unusually warm," said Vladimir Romanovsky, who studies permafrost at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

在阿拉斯加大学费尔班克斯分校研究永久冻土的弗拉基米尔·罗曼诺夫斯基表示，“如果是这样，情况会更加严重，因为前一个冬天异常温暖。”

A recent oil spill near the Arctic city of Norilsk was partly blamed on melting permafrost. Last August, more than 4 million hectares of forests in Siberia were on fire. And, fires are burning already in the Arctic, ahead of the usual fire season start in July, said Vladimir Chuprov of the environmental group Greenpeace Russia.

最近北极城市诺里尔斯克附近发生的石油泄漏事件，部分要归咎于永久冻土融化。去年8月，西伯利亚地区超过400万公顷森林起火。环境组织“绿色和平俄罗斯”的弗拉基米尔·丘普罗夫表示，在7月份火灾高发季来临之前，大火已经在北极地区燃烧。

The warm weather, wildfires and melting of permafrost affect global warming by releasing large amounts of methane⁵, a greenhouse gas, into the atmosphere. Methane is 28 times stronger than carbon dioxide.

温暖的天气、野火和永久冻土融化通过向大气释放大量的温室气体甲烷，来影响全球变暖。甲烷的威力比二氧化碳强28倍。

Marina Makarova is chief meteorologist at Russian weather agency Rosgidromet. She said the temperature in Verkhoyansk remained unusually high from last Friday through Monday.

玛丽娜·马卡洛娃是俄罗斯气象局的首席气象学家。她表示，从上周五到周一，维科扬斯克的气温一直保持在异常高的水平。

Makarova added, "The ground surface h?eats up intensively...The nights are very warm, the air doesn't have time to cool and continues to heat up for several days."

马卡洛娃补充说，“地表温度大幅升高，夜晚非常温暖，空气没有时间降温，连续数天升温。”

For those who live in the Russian Arctic Circle, a heat wave has its good side. Vasilisa Ivanova spent every day this week swimming and sunbathing⁶ with her family.

对居住在俄罗斯北极圈内的人来说，热浪有其好的一面。瓦西丽莎·伊万诺娃本周每天都和家人一起游泳和晒日光浴。

"We spend the entire day on the shore of the Lena River," said Ivanova, who lives in the village of Zhigansk, about 430 kilometers from where the heat record was set.

伊万诺娃说：“我们一整天都在勒拿河岸边度过”，她住在离创下高温记录的地方约430公里的日甘斯克村。

I'm Caty Weaver⁷.

凯蒂·韦弗报道。

1 Arctic   

adj.北极的；n.北极

参考例句：

• They flew over the unlimited reaches of the Arctic.他们飞过了茫茫无边的北极上空。
• The sort of animal lived in the Arctic Circle.这种动物生活在北极圈里。

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 frozen   

adj.冻结的，冰冻的

参考例句：

• He was frozen to death on a snowing night.在一个风雪的晚上，他被冻死了。
• The weather is cold and the ground is frozen.天寒地冻。

4 observatory   

n.天文台，气象台，瞭望台，观测台

参考例句：

• Guy's house was close to the observatory.盖伊的房子离天文台很近。
• Officials from Greenwich Observatory have the clock checked twice a day.格林威治天文台的职员们每天对大钟检查两次。

5 methane   

n.甲烷，沼气

参考例句：

• The blast was caused by pockets of methane gas that ignited.爆炸是由数袋甲烷气体着火引起的。
• Methane may have extraterrestrial significance.甲烷具有星际意义。

6 sunbathing   

n.日光浴

参考例句：

• tourists sunbathing on the beach 在海滩上沐浴着阳光的游客
• We've been sunbathing on the beach. 我们一直在海滩上晒日光浴。

7 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。