2022年10月24日 VOA慢速英語：科學家獲得有關(guān)氣候變化的更精確細節(jié)

 
Scientists have long been predicting that global warming will increase extreme weather events around the world. Recent examples of such events are floods in Pakistan, extreme heat in Europe and drought in China, East Africa, northern Mexico, and the U.S. West.
長期以來，科學家們一直在預測，全球變暖將增加世界各地的極端天氣事件。近期此類事件的例子包括巴基斯坦的洪水、歐洲的極端高溫以及中國、東非、墨西哥北部和美國西部的干旱。
 
"With just over one degree of warming since pre-industrial times, we are already seeing more extreme weather patterns," said Elizabeth Robinson. She is director of the Grantham Research Institute in London.
伊麗莎白羅賓遜說：“自前工業(yè)時代以來，氣溫剛剛超過 1 度，我們已經(jīng)看到了更多的極端天氣模式。” 她是倫敦格蘭瑟姆研究所的所長。
 
Kim Cobb is a climate scientist at Brown University in Rhode Island. She said researchers are now starting to get more exact details about the speed, size, and timing of climate changes. This includes details about how effects can be very different from region to region.
Kim Cobb 是羅德島布朗大學的氣候科學家。她說，研究人員現(xiàn)在開始獲得有關(guān)氣候變化速度、規(guī)模和時間的更準確的細節(jié)。這包括有關(guān)影響如何因地區(qū)而異的詳細信息。
 
Scientists usually compare the average global temperature today to estimates for the pre-industrial period. That is when the burning of fossil fuels first started to increase.
科學家們通常將今天的全球平均溫度與前工業(yè)化時期的估計值進行比較。那是化石燃料的燃燒開始增加的時候。
 
The average global temperature has increased between 0.9 and 1.2 degrees Celsius since 1850, mostly because of human activity. Those numbers come from estimates in the most recent report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, or IPCC. Most of that warming has happened since 1975, at a rate of 0.15 Celsius to 0.2 Celsius per decade.
自 1850 年以來，全球平均氣溫上升了 0.9 到 1.2 攝氏度，主要是由于人類活動。這些數(shù)字來自政府間氣候變化專門委員會 (IPCC) 最新報告中的估計。大部分變暖發(fā)生在 1975 年以來，每十年升溫 0.15 到 0.2 攝氏度。
 
The average temperature in 2021 was 1.3 degrees higher than the 20th century average.
2021 年的平均氣溫比 20 世紀的平均氣溫高 1.3 度。
 
But most people are living in places where the temperature has increased more than the global average. That is because more and more people are living in urban areas. These areas can trap heat because of the many roads and buildings and because they have fewer trees. Trees help make an area cooler.
但大多數(shù)人生活在氣溫升高超過全球平均水平的地方。那是因為越來越多的人生活在城市地區(qū)。由于道路和建筑物眾多，而且樹木較少，這些區(qū)域可以吸收熱量。樹木有助于使區(qū)域涼爽。
 
Climate and global temperatures have changed throughout the Earth's history. But it is the speed of recent changes that worries researchers.
氣候和全球溫度在整個地球歷史上都發(fā)生了變化。但令研究人員擔憂的是最近變化的速度。
 
Adapting to dangerous weather events is one big way humans can limit damage from climate change. Weather-related disaster deaths are generally going down in number globally. That is because weather predictions have improved and because people are more prepared, scientists say.
適應危險的天氣事件是人類限制氣候變化損害的一種重要方式。全球與天氣有關(guān)的災害死亡人數(shù)普遍下降?？茖W家們說，這是因為天氣預報有所改善，而且人們準備得更充分。
 
Robinson, the Grantham Research Institute scientist, said, "The extent to which people are harmed by an extreme weather event is strongly influenced by government policies."
格蘭瑟姆研究所的科學家羅賓遜說：“人們受極端天氣事件傷害的程度很大程度上受政府政策的影響。”
 
She added that "there are limits to adaptation."
她補充說，“適應是有限度的。”