Heat, Wildfire, Storms Are Signs of Climate Troubles

2023-07-11

00:00 / 00:00
复读宝 RABC v8.0beta 复读机按钮使用说明
播放/暂停
停止
播放时:倒退3秒/复读时:回退AB段
播放时:快进3秒/复读时:前进AB段
拖动:改变速度/点击:恢复正常速度1.0
拖动改变复读暂停时间
点击:复读最近5秒/拖动:改变复读次数
设置A点
设置B点
取消复读并清除AB点
播放一行
停止播放
后退一行
前进一行
复读一行
复读多行
变速复读一行
变速复读多行
LRC
TXT
大字
小字
滚动
全页
1
  • The Earth set unofficial record high temperatures last week.
  • 2
  • Scientists said they were a clear sign of how pollutants released by humans are warming the environment.
  • 3
  • But the heat is also just one way the planet is telling us something is seriously wrong, they added.
  • 4
  • "Heat sets the pace of our climate in so many ways ... it's never just the heat," said Kim Cobb.
  • 5
  • She is a climate scientist at Brown University in Rhode Island.
  • 6
  • Dying coral reefs, more intense storms, and the wildfire smoke that much of North America experienced this summer are other signs of climate troubles.
  • 7
  • "The increasing heating of our planet caused by fossil fuel use is not unexpected,
  • 8
  • but it is dangerous for us humans and for the ecosystems we depend on.
  • 9
  • We need to stop it, fast," said Stefan Rahmstorf of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research.
  • 10
  • Other recent natural events also show that climate change has entered new territory.
  • 11
  • Most of the planet is covered by oceans, which have taken in 90 percent of the recent warming caused by planet-warming gases such as carbon dioxide and methane.
  • 12
  • In April, worldwide ocean temperature rose to 21.1 degrees Celsius, which scientists believe was caused by a combination of planet-warming gases and the early El Nino formation.
  • 13
  • El Nino is a period of warming Pacific Ocean waters.
  • 14
  • Newly published data from the Copernicus Climate Change Service documented "exceptionally warm" ocean temperatures in the North Atlantic.
  • 15
  • And it documented "extreme" sea heat waves near Ireland, Britain, and in the Baltic Sea.
  • 16
  • High levels of wildfire smoke are more common on the West Coast.
  • 17
  • But, recently, several rounds of wildfire smoke from wildfires in northern Canada brought dangerous air quality levels to eastern North America.
  • 18
  • Scientists say that climate change will make wildfires and smoke more likely and intense and that the East Coast will see more of it.
  • 19
  • The current El Nino formed a month or two earlier than usual.
  • 20
  • It replaced La Nina that, with its cooling of Pacific waters, kept worldwide temperatures down.
  • 21
  • That means that it will have more time than usual to strengthen.
  • 22
  • The World Meteorological Organization predicts there is a 98 percent chance that at least one of the next five years will be the warmest on record.
  • 23
  • One of these years would beat temperatures from 2016 when an exceptionally strong El Nino was present.
  • 24
  • Scientists are watching Antarctic sea ice shrink to record lows.
  • 25
  • On June 27, about 11.7 million square kilometers were covered by the ice sheet.
  • 26
  • Data from the National Snow and Ice Data Center found that the amount was almost 2.6 million square kilometers less than average for that date for the period from 1981-2010.
  • 27
  • Put another way, an area nearly four times the size of the American state of Texas was gone from the ice sheet.
  • 28
  • I'm Gregory Stachel.
  • 1
  • The Earth set unofficial record high temperatures last week. Scientists said they were a clear sign of how pollutants released by humans are warming the environment. But the heat is also just one way the planet is telling us something is seriously wrong, they added.
  • 2
  • "Heat sets the pace of our climate in so many ways ... it's never just the heat," said Kim Cobb. She is a climate scientist at Brown University in Rhode Island.
  • 3
  • Dying coral reefs, more intense storms, and the wildfire smoke that much of North America experienced this summer are other signs of climate troubles.
  • 4
  • "The increasing heating of our planet caused by fossil fuel use is not unexpected, but it is dangerous for us humans and for the ecosystems we depend on. We need to stop it, fast," said Stefan Rahmstorf of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research.
  • 5
  • Other recent natural events also show that climate change has entered new territory.
  • 6
  • Ocean warming
  • 7
  • Most of the planet is covered by oceans, which have taken in 90 percent of the recent warming caused by planet-warming gases such as carbon dioxide and methane.
  • 8
  • In April, worldwide ocean temperature rose to 21.1 degrees Celsius, which scientists believe was caused by a combination of planet-warming gases and the early El Nino formation. El Nino is a period of warming Pacific Ocean waters.
  • 9
  • Newly published data from the Copernicus Climate Change Service documented "exceptionally warm" ocean temperatures in the North Atlantic. And it documented "extreme" sea heat waves near Ireland, Britain, and in the Baltic Sea.
  • 10
  • Wildfire smoke
  • 11
  • High levels of wildfire smoke are more common on the West Coast. But, recently, several rounds of wildfire smoke from wildfires in northern Canada brought dangerous air quality levels to eastern North America.
  • 12
  • Scientists say that climate change will make wildfires and smoke more likely and intense and that the East Coast will see more of it.
  • 13
  • El Nino arrives early
  • 14
  • The current El Nino formed a month or two earlier than usual. It replaced La Nina that, with its cooling of Pacific waters, kept worldwide temperatures down. That means that it will have more time than usual to strengthen.
  • 15
  • The World Meteorological Organization predicts there is a 98 percent chance that at least one of the next five years will be the warmest on record. One of these years would beat temperatures from 2016 when an exceptionally strong El Nino was present.
  • 16
  • Shrinking Antarctic sea ice
  • 17
  • Scientists are watching Antarctic sea ice shrink to record lows. On June 27, about 11.7 million square kilometers were covered by the ice sheet. Data from the National Snow and Ice Data Center found that the amount was almost 2.6 million square kilometers less than average for that date for the period from 1981-2010.
  • 18
  • Put another way, an area nearly four times the size of the American state of Texas was gone from the ice sheet.
  • 19
  • I'm Gregory Stachel.
  • 20
  • Steve Wartenberg reported this story for The Associated Press. Gregory Stachel adapted it for VOA Learning English.
  • 21
  • _______________________________________________________________
  • 22
  • Words in This Story
  • 23
  • pace - n. the speed at which something happens
  • 24
  • coral reef - n. a long line of coral that lies in warm, shallow water
  • 25
  • fossil fuel - n. energy in the form of gas, coal and oil that is taken from the ground and comes from the breakdown of old matter
  • 26
  • ecosystem - n. everything that exists in an environment and how all those things interact
  • 27
  • exceptionally - adj. not usual
  • 28
  • shrink - v. to become smaller in amount, size, or value
  • 29
  • sheet - n. a wide, flat surface or area of something
  • 30
  • ______________________________________________________________
  • 31
  • What do you think of this story?
  • 32
  • We want to hear from you. We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: