Heat, Wildfire, Storms Are Signs of Climate Troubles
2023-07-11
LRC
TXT
大字
小字
滚动
全页
1The Earth set unofficial record high temperatures last week.
2Scientists said they were a clear sign of how pollutants released by humans are warming the environment.
3But 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.
5She is a climate scientist at Brown University in Rhode Island.
6Dying 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,
8but it is dangerous for us humans and for the ecosystems we depend on.
9We need to stop it, fast," said Stefan Rahmstorf of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research.
10Other recent natural events also show that climate change has entered new territory.
11Most 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.
12In 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.
13El Nino is a period of warming Pacific Ocean waters.
14Newly published data from the Copernicus Climate Change Service documented "exceptionally warm" ocean temperatures in the North Atlantic.
15And it documented "extreme" sea heat waves near Ireland, Britain, and in the Baltic Sea.
16High levels of wildfire smoke are more common on the West Coast.
17But, recently, several rounds of wildfire smoke from wildfires in northern Canada brought dangerous air quality levels to eastern North America.
18Scientists say that climate change will make wildfires and smoke more likely and intense and that the East Coast will see more of it.
19The current El Nino formed a month or two earlier than usual.
20It replaced La Nina that, with its cooling of Pacific waters, kept worldwide temperatures down.
21That means that it will have more time than usual to strengthen.
22The 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.
23One of these years would beat temperatures from 2016 when an exceptionally strong El Nino was present.
24Scientists are watching Antarctic sea ice shrink to record lows.
25On June 27, about 11.7 million square kilometers were covered by the ice sheet.
26Data 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.
27Put another way, an area nearly four times the size of the American state of Texas was gone from the ice sheet.
28I'm Gregory Stachel.
1The 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. 3Dying 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. 5Other recent natural events also show that climate change has entered new territory. 6Ocean warming 7Most 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. 8In 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. 9Newly 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. 10Wildfire smoke 11High 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. 12Scientists say that climate change will make wildfires and smoke more likely and intense and that the East Coast will see more of it. 13El Nino arrives early 14The 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. 15The 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. 16Shrinking Antarctic sea ice 17Scientists 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. 18Put another way, an area nearly four times the size of the American state of Texas was gone from the ice sheet. 19I'm Gregory Stachel. 20Steve Wartenberg reported this story for The Associated Press. Gregory Stachel adapted it for VOA Learning English. 21_______________________________________________________________ 22Words in This Story 23pace - n. the speed at which something happens 24coral reef - n. a long line of coral that lies in warm, shallow water 25fossil 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 26ecosystem - n. everything that exists in an environment and how all those things interact 27exceptionally - adj. not usual 28shrink - v. to become smaller in amount, size, or value 29sheet - n. a wide, flat surface or area of something 30______________________________________________________________ 31What do you think of this story? 32We want to hear from you. We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: