Extreme weather ‘record’ likely in Arctic Circle, says UN weather agency WMO

23 June 2020

Climate Change UN

Reports?that temperatures in a Russian town in the Arctic Circle likely reached a record 38C (100.4F), last weekend, have been approved by the World Meteorological?Organization (WMO)pending final verification, it said on Tuesday.

the Arctic circle：北極圈??Arctic/?ɑ?kt?k/ 北極的，極寒的??WMO?世界氣象組織

Meteorological?/?mi?t??r??l?d??k?l/ 氣象學(xué)的?meteorology?氣象學(xué)

pend /p?nd/ 1.V to await judgment or settlement 等候判定或決定 2.N an archway or vaulted passage 拱道; 拱廊

“The WMO is seeking to verify reports of a new temperature record north of the Arctic circle”, WMO spokesperson Clare Nullis told journalists in Geneva.?“It was reported in the Russian town of Verkhoyansk?amid?a prolonged?Siberian heatwave?and increase in wildfire?activity.”

Geneva： /d?i'ni:v?/?日內(nèi)瓦

amid prep. /??m?d/ 1.in the middle of or during sth, especially sth that causes excitement or fear 在…過程中；在…中?He finished his speech amid tremendous applause. 他在雷鳴般的掌聲中結(jié)束了演講。??2.surrounded by sth 在…中；四周是

prolonged adj. /pr??l??d/ ?continuing for a long time 持久的；長期的

Siberian heatwave：西伯利亞熱浪?Siberian?/sai'bi?ri?n/ 西伯利亞的

heatwave n. /?hi?twe?v/ ?a period of unusually hot weather 酷熱期；熱浪

wildfire：wild-fire野火

If the Russian authorities confirm the temperature observation taken last Saturday, WMO will then refer the finding for a further detailed review by an international panel of experts, Ms. Nullis explained.

The region of Eastern Siberia now?in the spotlight?is known for its weather extremes in winter and in summer, with temperatures above 30C (86F) not unusual in July.

in the spotlight：處于公眾注意的中心

This latest report of an Arctic temperature more typical of the Tropics?comes a few months after the Argentine research base, Esperanza, on the northern tip of the Antarctic?peninsula, set a new record temperature of 18.4C (65.3F) on 6 February. Arctic heating up twice as fast

Tropics：熱帶地區(qū)? ??Argentine /?ɑ?d??nta?n/ 阿根廷人，阿根廷的

Antarctic /?n?tɑ?kt?k/ 南極地區(qū)? ?peninsula?/p??n?nsj?l?/半島

According to WMO, the Arctic is heating at roughly twice the global average. The heat spike follows a prolonged Siberian heatwave and wildfire period, Ms. Nullis explained, after an unusually warm spring that was also characterised by a lack of snow.

Data from WMO shows that May was about 10C (18.5F) above average in many parts of Siberia, “and it was this extraordinary heat which actually drove, made the warmest May on record for…the northern?hemisphere, and also we think at a global level as well”, said Ms. Nullis.

According to WMO, air temperatures in the Arctic from 2016 to 2019 were the highest on record.

hemisphere?/?hem?sf??(r)/（大腦的）半球；（球體）半球；南北半球

Sea ice declines

Equally worrying, the volume of Arctic sea ice in September 2019 – after the melting season - declined by more than 50 per cent, compared to the average from 1979 to 2019.

WMO’s verification process involves requesting additional information from the Russian meteorological service Roshydromet, including the readings, the type of equipment used and how the observation corresponds to others taken by surrounding weather stations.

“Those data will then be very carefully examined by an international panel of atmospheric scientists who, once they discussed it, will make a recommendation as to whether or not the observation is valid,” said Professor Randall Cerveny, WMO Rapporteur, in a statement.

rapporteur n. /?r?p???t??(r)/ ( from French )( technical 術(shù)語 ) a person officially chosen by an organization to investigate a problem and report on it 特派調(diào)查員

He added: “The end result will be incredibly valuable information that will help climate scientists better understand climate, engineers and medical doctors better prepare for climate extremes and even the general public in achieving a better appreciation of climate change across this planet.”

原文鏈接：https://news.un.org/en/story/2020/06/1066882

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