《經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)人》雙語(yǔ):地球迎來(lái)最熱年份,將突破1.5℃的氣候目標(biāo)?
原文標(biāo)題:
Climate change
Mercury rising
The world is likely to breach its 1.5°C climate target before 2028
氣候變化
溫度在升高
地球很可能在2028年前突破1.5℃的氣候目標(biāo)
The coming years will be the hottest ever
未來(lái)幾年將是有史以來(lái)最熱的時(shí)期
[Paragraph 1]
IN
2015, in Paris, the nations of the world committed themselves to trying
their best to prevent the planet warming by more than 1.5°C from its
pre-industrial state.
2015年,在巴黎,世界各國(guó)承諾盡最大努力防止地球比工業(yè)化前的氣溫高 1.5°C。
Even at the time, the goal looked ambitious. In recent years, it has come to seem almost impossible.
即使在當(dāng)時(shí),這個(gè)目標(biāo)看起來(lái)很宏大。近年來(lái),它似乎是不可能完成的目標(biāo)。

[Paragraph 2]
On May 17th the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), an arm of the United Nations, added to the gloom.
5月17日,聯(lián)合國(guó)部門(mén)“世界氣象組織”更增添了疑慮。
It said there was a 66% chance that the world would exceed the 1.5°C threshold in at least one of the next five years.
它說(shuō)在未來(lái)五年中的某一年,全球溫度超過(guò) 1.5°C 閾值的可能性為 66%。
That is a big jump from its estimates of even a year ago, when the WMO assessed the likelihood at 48%.
這比一年前的估計(jì)有了很大的飛躍,當(dāng)時(shí)世界氣象組織評(píng)估的可能性為48%。
Even
if the 1.5°C target is not breached, the WMO thinks it is virtually
certain that one of the coming five years will be the hottest in human
history.
即使沒(méi)有突破1.5°C的目標(biāo),世界氣象組織認(rèn)為幾乎可以肯定的是,未來(lái)五年中的某一年將是人類(lèi)歷史上最熱的年份。
(That record is now held by 2016, which was 1.28°C warmer than the pre-industrial average.)
(目前最高記錄是發(fā)生在2016年,比工業(yè)化前的平均溫度高1.28℃)。
[Paragraph 3]
Optimists
point out even if the 1.5°C threshold is breached in the coming
half-decade, temperatures will likely fall back again, at least for a
while.
樂(lè)觀主義者指出,即使在未來(lái)五年內(nèi)突破 1.5°C 的閾值,溫度也可能會(huì)再次回落,至少會(huì)回落一段時(shí)間。
The Paris agreement would not, technically be breached. (That would require exceeding 1.5°C for several years.)
從技術(shù)上講,不會(huì)違反巴黎協(xié)定。(這需要連續(xù)幾年超過(guò)1.5°C。)
Over the next few years the growing level of human-driven warming will be amplified further by natural, but transient, changes.
在接下來(lái)的幾年里,受人類(lèi)活動(dòng)推動(dòng)的全球變暖水平將會(huì)被自然因素進(jìn)一步放大,雖然這種影響是暫時(shí)性的。
[Paragraph 4]
The
biggest of those variations is the El Ni?o Southern Oscillation (ENSO),
a natural cycle of warming and cooling in the waters of the eastern
Pacific ocean that has widespread effects on the climate.
其中最大的變量是厄爾尼諾南方濤動(dòng),這是一個(gè)在東太平洋水域升溫和降溫的自然周期,對(duì)氣候有很大的影響。
The world has just seen three consecutive “La Ni?a” years, the name given to the cooler phase of the cycle, helping hold global temperatures down.
地球剛剛經(jīng)歷了連續(xù)三年的 "拉尼娜 "年,這個(gè)名字是指該周期的低溫階段,有助于降低全球氣溫。
It now seems almost certain that a warmer “El Ni?o” phase will begin sometime later this year, setting up 2024 to be a scorcher. (One reason for the 2016 record is that the year coincided with an especially strong El Ni?o.)
現(xiàn)在似乎幾乎可以肯定的是, "厄爾尼諾 "升溫階段將在今年晚些時(shí)候開(kāi)始,使 2024 年成為炎熱的一年。(2016 年創(chuàng)下高溫紀(jì)錄的原因是這一年恰逢特別強(qiáng)烈的厄爾尼諾現(xiàn)象。)
[Paragraph 5]
But the ENSO is not the only factor. An additional temporary nudge could come from the eruption last year of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano, near Tonga.
但厄爾尼諾南方濤動(dòng)不是唯一的因素。去年湯加火山爆發(fā)可能會(huì)成為額外的臨時(shí)推動(dòng)因素。
It
was one of the biggest eruptions since that of Mount Pinatubo in the
Philippines in the 1990s, and injected an estimated 146m tonnes of water
vapour into the stratosphere.
這是自1990年代菲律賓皮納圖博火山以來(lái)最大的一次火山噴發(fā),估計(jì)向平流層注入了1.46億噸水蒸氣。
Water
vapour, like carbon dioxide, is a greenhouse gas. Unlike carbon
dioxide, it will gradually fall out of the stratosphere over the next
few years.
水蒸氣和二氧化碳一樣,都是溫室氣體。與二氧化碳不同的是,它將在未來(lái)幾年內(nèi)逐漸從平流層里釋放出來(lái)。
But
Stuart Jenkins, a climatologist at Oxford University, reckons that
while it persists it could increase the odds of passing 1.5°C by a few
percentage points.
但是牛津大學(xué)的氣候?qū)W家斯圖爾特.詹金斯估計(jì),當(dāng)水蒸氣持續(xù)釋放時(shí),它可能會(huì)使超過(guò)1.5℃的幾率增加幾個(gè)百分點(diǎn)。
[Paragraph 6]
Some tentatively encouraging signs gleam amid the gloom.
憂(yōu)慮中也閃耀著一些暫且令人鼓舞的消息。
Global emissions of greenhouse gases from fossil fuels seem to have gone sideways for several years, leading some researchers to speak cautiously of a possible peak.
多年來(lái),化石燃料產(chǎn)生的溫室氣體全球排放量似乎不可預(yù)測(cè),這導(dǎo)致一些研究人員對(duì)可能出現(xiàn)的峰值持謹(jǐn)慎態(tài)度。
Rystad
Energy, a Norwegian think-tank, predicted earlier this year that global
emissions of carbon dioxide from industry could peak in 2025 and then
begin a slow decline.
挪威智囊團(tuán)Rystad Energy今年早些時(shí)候預(yù)測(cè),全球工業(yè)的二氧化碳排放量可能在2025年達(dá)到峰值,然后開(kāi)始緩慢下降。
[Paragraph 7]
Even so, the world’s actions still fall far short of its promises.
即便如此,全球的行動(dòng)仍然遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)達(dá)不到它所作出的承諾。
Even
the upper end of the goals agreed in Paris—of limiting warming to “well
below 2°C”—will be achievable only with drastic action.
即使是在巴黎商定的目標(biāo)的上限——限制全球氣溫上升幅度“遠(yuǎn)低于 2°C”——也只有采取嚴(yán)厲的行動(dòng)才能實(shí)現(xiàn)。
For
Europe and America to meet their commitments, for instance, would
require them to switch off all their fossil-fired power plants within
the next three decades.
例如,歐洲和美國(guó)要實(shí)現(xiàn)他們的承諾,就需要他們?cè)谖磥?lái)30年內(nèi)關(guān)閉所有的化石燃料發(fā)電廠。
[Paragraph 8]
And
simply stopping emissions will not be enough. Somewhere between 3.5bn
and 5.4bn tonnes of carbon dioxide will need to be sucked out of the
atmosphere every year, rising to 4.7bn to 9.8bn tonnes within 30 years.
All that is a big ask, to put it mildly.
而僅僅停止排放是不夠的。每年需要從大氣中吸出35億至54億噸二氧化碳,在30年內(nèi)增加到47億至98億噸。委婉地說(shuō),這一切都是巨大的挑戰(zhàn)。
But
the optimist’s take might be that the psychological impact of breaching
the 1.5°C goal, even if only temporarily, could help focus minds.
但樂(lè)觀主義者的看法可能是,突破1.5℃的目標(biāo)所帶來(lái)的心理影響,盡管只是暫時(shí)的,但足以引起人們的注意。
(恭喜讀完,本篇英語(yǔ)詞匯量672左右)
原文出自:2023年5月20日《The Economist》Science & technology版塊
精讀筆記來(lái)源于:自由英語(yǔ)之路
本文翻譯整理: Irene本文編輯校對(duì): Irene
僅供個(gè)人英語(yǔ)學(xué)習(xí)交流使用。

【補(bǔ)充資料】(來(lái)自于網(wǎng)絡(luò))
巴黎協(xié)定是聯(lián)合國(guó)氣候變化框架公約(UNFCCC)下達(dá)成的一項(xiàng)全球性氣候協(xié)議,于2015年12月通過(guò)并在2016年11月正式生效。協(xié)議旨在通過(guò)降低溫室氣體排放,限制全球氣溫上升幅度不超過(guò)2攝氏度,盡量爭(zhēng)取控制在1.5攝氏度以?xún)?nèi)。為實(shí)現(xiàn)這一目標(biāo),各締約方需制定具有采取行動(dòng)、逐步加強(qiáng)和透明度等原則的自愿貢獻(xiàn),并每五年更新一次。巴黎協(xié)定被認(rèn)為是一個(gè)歷史性的里程碑,得到了世界各國(guó)政府和社會(huì)各界的廣泛支持和參與。截至2023年5月,共有197個(gè)國(guó)家和地區(qū)簽署了該協(xié)議,其中189個(gè)已經(jīng)正式批準(zhǔn)。
厄爾尼諾南方濤動(dòng)是指發(fā)生在太平洋東部的一種氣候現(xiàn)象,通常每隔幾年就會(huì)出現(xiàn)一次。在這種現(xiàn)象中,太平洋赤道東部海域出現(xiàn)異常溫暖的海水,引發(fā)全球氣候變化。此時(shí)赤道西部的降雨增加,而東部地區(qū)則干旱。
拉尼娜是一種發(fā)生在太平洋東部的氣候現(xiàn)象,通常是厄爾尼諾南方濤動(dòng)現(xiàn)象的反面。在拉尼娜時(shí)期,太平洋赤道東部海域表面溫度比平均值略低,同時(shí)赤道西部地區(qū)的海水溫度比平均值更高。拉尼娜現(xiàn)象通常會(huì)引起降雨量減少、干旱和風(fēng)暴等極端天氣,對(duì)全球農(nóng)業(yè)、漁業(yè)和水資源管理都帶來(lái)重要影響。與厄爾尼諾南方濤動(dòng)相似,拉尼娜現(xiàn)象也有周期性,每隔2-7年左右出現(xiàn)一次,并且常常持續(xù)6-18個(gè)月不等。
【重點(diǎn)句子】(3個(gè))
Over the next few years the growing level of human-driven warming will be amplified further by natural, but transient, changes.
在接下來(lái)的幾年里,受人類(lèi)活動(dòng)推動(dòng)的全球變暖水平將會(huì)被自然因素進(jìn)一步放大,雖然這種影響是暫時(shí)性的。
Some tentatively encouraging signs gleam amid the gloom.
憂(yōu)慮中也閃耀著一些暫且令人鼓舞的消息。
But
the optimist’s take might be that the psychological impact of breaching
the 1.5°C goal, even if only temporarily, could help focus minds.
但樂(lè)觀主義者的看法可能是,突破1.5℃的目標(biāo)所帶來(lái)的心理影響,盡管只是暫時(shí)的,但足以引起人們的注意。
