Climate change: Record northern heat, fuels concerns over US wildfire destruction

15 September 2020

Climate Change??UN

The northern hemisphere experienced its warmest August ever, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said on Tuesday, amid searing?conditions that have contributed to devastating wildfires on the west coast of the United States.

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

WMO： 世界氣象組織（World Meteorological Organisation）

searing ?adj. /?s??r??/ ?

1.so strong that it seems to burn you 灼人的；火辣辣的 ?the searing heat of a tropical summer 熱帶夏季灼人的熱浪 ?searing pain 火辣辣的疼痛

2.( of words or speech 文字或話語 ) powerful and critical 猛烈批評(píng)的

“The northern hemisphere just had its hottest summer on record”, said Clare Nullis, WMO spokesperson.

“It also had its hottest August on record; this is according to figures released last night by?the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).”

Data indicates that from June to August, temperatures were 2.11 degrees Fahrenheit (1.17 degrees Celsius) above average.

?the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA):美國(guó)國(guó)家海洋和大氣管理局

Five warmest summers since 2015

This surpasses previous warmest periods in 2016 and 2019, Ms. Nullis said, adding that the five warmest summers for the northern hemisphere have occurred since 2015.

At a global level, August was the second warmest on record, the WMO spokesperson added, citing NOAA data, at 1.69F (0.94C) above the 20th-century average of 60.1F (15.6C).

The past month was the 44th consecutive?August and the 428th consecutive month, with temperatures above the 20th century average. “The 10 warmest Augusts on record have all occurred since 1998”, she said.

consecutive ?adj. /k?n?sekj?t?v/ ?[ usually before noun ] following one after another in a series, without interruption 連續(xù)不斷的?? She was absent for nine consecutive days. 她一連缺席了九天。

The 2020 fire season on the west coast of the US has also been record-breaking in its scale, with some 16,0000 firefighters involved in the effort to protect people and towns in California alone.

16,000 firefighters battling blazes

blaze ?/ble?z/ ?

名詞?1.( 尤用于報(bào)章 ) 烈火；火災(zāi)?Five people died in the blaze. 火災(zāi)中有五人喪生。2. 火焰??Dry wood makes a good blaze. 干木柴燒得旺。 3. a ~ of sth（光或色彩等的）展現(xiàn)?The gardens are a blaze of colour. 花園里姹紫嫣紅。 ?the bright blaze of the sun 太陽的光輝??a blaze of glory 榮耀?4. (a) ~ of sth （感情的）迸發(fā)，發(fā)泄??a blaze of anger/passion/hate 怒火╱激情╱仇恨的迸發(fā)?5.（動(dòng)物面部的）白斑

動(dòng)詞?1.熊熊燃燒??A huge fire was blazing in the fireplace. 壁爐中火燒得正旺。2.閃耀；發(fā)亮光??The garden blazed with colour. 花園里姹紫嫣紅。 3.~ (with sth) ?怒視；（怒火）燃燒??Her eyes were blazing with fury. 她的雙眼燃燒著怒火。 4. [ usually passive ] ( also blazon ) ~ sth (across/all over sth) ?大肆宣揚(yáng)??The story was blazed all over the daily papers. 那個(gè)傳聞被各家報(bào)紙炒得沸沸揚(yáng)揚(yáng)。5.~ (away) if a gun or sb using a gun blazes , the gun fires continuously 連續(xù)射擊??In the distance machine guns were blazing. 機(jī)關(guān)槍在遠(yuǎn)處不停地射擊。 ?

IDIOMS 習(xí)語

1. what/where/who the ?blazes...?（委婉語，煩惱和驚奇時(shí)說，與hell同義）??What the blazes have you done? 你到底搞的什么名堂？

2. like blazes：?very hard; very fast 猛烈地；迅速地

3.blaze a ?trail：作開路先鋒；領(lǐng)先

“The heat has contributed to a very, very destructive fire season”, Ms. Nullis said. “As we know, the states of California, Oregon?and Washington have been worst-hit, entire neighbourhoods?razed to the ground, forcing the evacuation?of hundreds and thousands of people and tragically causing casualties.”

Oregon?/???r?ɡ?n/ n. 俄勒岡州（美國(guó)州名）

raze ?v. /re?z/ ?徹底摧毀；將…夷為平地?? The village was razed to the ground . 這座村莊被夷為平地。

evacuation?/??v?kju?e??n/?n. 疏散；撤離；排泄

In addition to fatalities and destruction, the fires have impacted air quality for millions of people and turned skies orange, the UN agency warned. Satellite images show clouds of smoke billowing?over the western Pacific and likely travelling more than 1,300 miles (2,092 kilometres).

billow /?b?l??/ ?

1.( of a sail, skirt, etc. 船帆、裙子等 ) to fill with air and swell out 鼓起??The curtains billowed in the breeze. 微風(fēng)吹得窗簾鼓了起來。

2.if smoke, cloud, etc. billows , it rises and moves in a large mass （煙霧）涌出，洶涌向前；大量冒出??A great cloud of smoke billowed out of the chimney. 滾滾濃煙從煙囪中噴涌而出。

3.波濤般的濃煙（或蒸汽等）

The smoke led to a hazy?morning on the opposition coast, as the sun battled to shine through an unusual layer of smog in New York City.

hazy ?adj. /?he?zi/ ?

1.朦朧的；薄霧蒙蒙的??a hazy afternoon/sky 霧蒙蒙的下午╱天空?hazy light/sunshine 朦朧的光線╱陽光

2.記不清的；模糊的??a hazy memory/idea 模糊不清的記憶╱概念

3.(人) 主意不定的；困惑的?I'm a little hazy about what to do next. 我還有點(diǎn)拿不準(zhǔn)下一步要做什么呢

Citing “red flag” conditions in northeastern California for much of this week, Ms. Nullis explained that this was the most dangerous threat level and that it is characterised by a combination of strong winds and tinder-dry?conditions.

tinder ?n. /?t?nd?(r)/ ?引火物；火絨；火種?? The fire started late Saturday in tinder-dry grass near the Snake River. 大火是星期六晚些時(shí)候在斯內(nèi)克河附近干枯的草地上燃起的。

Of 41,599 fires recorded in the US so far this year, 36,383 were caused by human activity, the WMO spokesperson continued, with more than 2.5 million acres?scorched across the United States.

scorch ?v./sk??t?/ ?

1.（把…）燙壞，燒煳；烤焦（物體表面）??I scorched my dress when I was ironing it. 我把自己的連衣裙熨焦了。 ?Don't stand so near the fire—your coat is scorching! 別站得離火那么近—你的外衣都快烤焦了！

2.（使）枯黃，枯萎（尤指因曝曬或化學(xué)品的作用）??scorched grass 枯草

3.[ V + adv./prep. ] ( BrE informal ) to move very fast 疾馳；飛馳??The car scorched off down the road. 汽車沿公路飛馳而去。

California saw most individual blazes, with 7,072 human-caused fires reported, according to the US National Interagency Fire Center.

Tropical cyclone?threat

cyclone ?n. /?sa?kl??n/ ?氣旋；旋風(fēng)

Ms. Nullis also?warned?that the US National Hurricane Center issued advisories for “no less than five” tropical cyclones over the Atlantic basin – tying with the record for the highest number of tropical cyclones there at one time.

The 2020 Atlantic hurricane season is so active that it is expected to exhaust the regular list of storm names, the WMO spokesperson said. “If this happens, the Greek alphabet will be used for only the second time on record,” she added.

原文鏈接：https://news.un.org/en/story/2020/09/1072412