VOA科学技术2024--Researchers: Climate Change Made Brazil's Floods Twice as Likely

A team of international researchers says that climate change made recent flooding in southern Brazil twice as likely to happen.

It also said that the El Ni?o Pacific Ocean current made the rains in Brazil more severe.

Last month, flooding killed more than 170 people and displaced¹ nearly 580,000 in Brazil's southern state of Rio Grande do Sul. Local officials said it was the worst disaster in the area's history.

A network of experts called World Weather Attribution² said that the heavy rainfall in Rio Grande do Sul was an "extremely rare" event. The group said it expects such an event to happen only once every 100 to 250 years. However, the group added, it would have been even rarer without the effects of burning fossil³ fuel.

The experts at World Weather Attribution also said the flooding was six to nine percent more severe than it would have been without climate change. The experts combined weather observations with results from climate models to make their estimates⁴.

Lincoln Alves is with Brazil's space research center INPE. Alves said, "The climate in Brazil has already changed." He said that the study "confirms that human activities have contributed to more intense⁵ and frequent extreme events..." He added that the flooding showed Brazil's vulnerability⁶ to climate change.

The researchers said that the El Ni?o Pacific Ocean current also played a part in the flooding in Brazil. Experts say the El Ni?o phenomenon contributes to higher temperatures in many parts of the world. It also brings increased rainfall and flood risk to parts of the Americas.

The scientists added that failure of important infrastructure⁷, deforestation, and the fast growth of cities helped to increase the effects of the disaster. The flooding affected⁸ Porto Alegre, the capital of Rio Grande do Sul. The city is home to 1.3 million people.

Regina Rodrigues is a researcher at the Federal⁹ University of Santa Catarina. She said that good flood protection infrastructure and the right urban planning are needed to reduce the effect of "such extreme events."

Words in This Story

fossil fuel -n. fuels including oil, coal or natural gas

model -n. a set of information from the past that is used to make predictions about the future

contribute -v. to help something come about

phenomenon -n. something that happens in nature that can be observed and studied

vulnerability -n. a weakness; a condition of being easily damaged or harmed

infrastructure -n. structures like dams, bridges, and drainage¹⁰ that are deeded to have modern civilization

deforestation -n. the process of cutting down trees in large numbers without replacing them

1 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。

2 attribution   

n.属于

参考例句：

• Attribution of her success solely to wealth is not fair. 认为她的成功完全是因为有财富是不公平的。
• Attribution theory is concerned with the study of perceived causation. 归因理论是对认识到的因果关系的研究。

3 fossil   

n.化石，食古不化的人，老顽固

参考例句：

• At this distance of time it is difficult to date the fossil.时间隔得这么久了，很难确定这化石的年代。
• The man is a fossil.那人是个老顽固。

4 estimates   

估计

参考例句：

• Unofficial estimates put the figure at over two million. 非官方的估计数字为200万以上。
• We got estimates from three different contractors before accepting the lowest. 我们得到3个承包商的报价后，接受了最低的报价。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 intense   

adj.认真的，专注的；强烈的；紧张的；热情的

参考例句：

• Susan was an intense young lady.苏珊是一个热情的年轻姑娘。
• The quarrel caused her intense unhappiness.争吵令她极其不快。

6 vulnerability   

n.脆弱(性)

参考例句：

• A baby is the embodiment of vulnerability. 婴儿极为脆弱。
• Saudi Arabia obscures its vulnerability by opaqueness. 沙特阿拉伯人以其神秘莫测来掩饰其脆弱。

7 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

8 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。

9 federal   

adj.联盟的；联邦的；(美国)联邦政府的

参考例句：

• Switzerland is a federal republic.瑞士是一个联邦共和国。
• The schools are screaming for federal aid.那些学校强烈要求联邦政府的援助。

10 drainage   

n.排水系统，下水道，排水，放水

参考例句：

• This is a drainage area.这里是排水区。
• Bad drainage caused the land to be flooded.排水不利容易使土地淹水。