加拿大西部热浪滚滚, 创下17个高温记录

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加拿大西部热浪滚滚, 创下17个高温记录(上)
As you might have heard, heat records are breaking all around the world from the Mediterranean to South Asia.
你可能听说过，从地中海到南亚，世界各地都在打破高温记录。
Most recently, records fell in the Pacific Northwest and western Canada.
近期，破纪录高温降临至太平洋西北部和加拿大西部。
Across British Columbia, residents are dealing with a record-breaking heat wave.
在不列颠哥伦比亚省，居民们正在应对创纪录的热浪天气。
Seventeen temperature records fell on Saturday with heat advisories falling across much of Western Canada.
周六，加拿大西部大部分地区都发布了高温预警，创下了17个高温记录。
This is not a usual May. This is not even an abnormally dry May. This is something exceptional.
这个五月不同寻常，甚至都没有出现异常干旱，这很罕见。
A few places saw temperatures in the mid-90s. For context–that's about 20 to 25 degrees Fahrenheit above normal.
一些地方的气温达到了90多华氏度。这比正常情况高出20到25华氏度。
Today we're talking about heat. It's nearly summer in the Northern Hemisphere, and with climate change, today's hot summers will be among the coolest of the rest of our lives.
今天我们要讨论的是高温。北半球快进入夏季了，随着气候变化，现今的炎炎夏日将是我们一生中最凉爽的夏天之一。
I'm Scientific American's earth and environment editor, Andrea Thompson.
我是《科学美国人》地球与环境编辑安德里亚·汤普森。
I'm Kelso Harper, a SciAm multimedia editor, and you're listening to Science, Quickly.
我是《科学美国人》多媒体编辑凯尔索·哈珀，您正在收听的是《科学快播》。
So, Andrea, first things first. How does a heat wave even happen?
安德里亚，先讲重要的，热浪是如何形成的?
Heat waves happen when a high pressure system parks itself over an area for several days.
当一个高压系统在某一地区停留数天时，就会形成热浪。
Under these systems, air sinks, which keeps clouds from forming. And if you don't have clouds in the sky-that means the sun can really bake the surface.
在高压系统下，空气下沉，云无法形成。如果空中无云，也就意味着太阳可以真正炙烤地面。
Imagine getting into your car after it's been sitting in the sun, and you get the picture.
想象一下，当你的车在太阳下晒了一段时间后，你再钻进车里，你就会明白了。
Right, and this can be really dangerous. In June of 2021, a particularly strong heat wave in the same area contributed to hundreds of deaths.
没错，这真的很危险。2021年6月，同一地区发生超强热浪，导致数百人遇难。
With climate change, heat waves like this are happening more often, they're lasting longer and they're likely to become more intense as time goes on.
随着气候变化，像这样的热浪发生得越来越频繁，持续时间也越来越长，而且随着时间的推移，程度可能也会变得越来越强烈。
And heat records are more likely to be broken and in some cases completely shattered.
高温记录更有可能被打破，在某些情况下会被完美被打破。
Normally, heat records are broken by a few tenths of a degree.
通常情况下，高温纪录只会比此前高出零点几度。
But last week in Canada near Hudson Bay-which is still covered in winter ice-a heat record was broken by a huge 7 degrees Celsius, or more than 12 degrees Fahrenheit.
但上周，在加拿大哈德逊湾附近(此处仍覆盖着冬冰)，高温记录被打破，比此前高出7摄氏度（超过12华氏度）。
The temperature shot up 40 degrees Fahrenheit over the average.
气温比平均水平高出了40华氏度。
But a heat wave doesn't have to set records to feel miserable.
但热浪并不一定要破记录才会让人感到痛苦。
Especially in places like the Pacific Northwest, where air conditioning isn't as prevalent and where people are less adjusted to heat.
尤其是在太平洋西北部这样的地方，那里的空调不那么普遍，那里的人们对热的适应能力也没那么好。
And at times of the year-like May-when people aren't expecting them.
在一年中的某些时候，比如五月，人们并不期待热浪的到来。
Heat waves are also particularly tough on the elderly, young children and people with health conditions like asthma or heart disease.
热浪对老人、幼儿以及患有哮喘或心脏病等疾病的人来说也特别难熬。
And it's not just the soaring high temperatures of the day that pose a problem. Higher nighttime temperatures mean people don't have a chance to cool down, particularly if they lack air conditioning.
造成问题的不仅仅是白天飙升的高温。较高的夜间温度意味着人们没有机会降温，尤其是在没有空调的情况下。

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加拿大西部热浪滚滚, 创下17个高温记录(下)
And humidity plays a role in our experience of heat, right?
湿度在我们的高温体验中起着重要作用，对吧?
Yeah, as anyone who's stepped outside on a summer day knows, high temperatures cause us to sweat. That's actually the body's natural cooling system, because the sweat cools our skin as it evaporates.
对，夏天出门的任何人都知道，高温会让我们出汗。这实际上是人体的自然冷却系统在起作用，因为汗水蒸发会让我们的皮肤温度降低。
But when the humidity is high, that evaporation slows down and can eventually stop.
但当湿度较高时，汗水蒸发速度会减慢，最终会停止蒸发。
And with global temperatures rising higher every year, it sounds like the heat waves and summers that are among the hottest in memory today are going to be left in the dust.
随着全球气温逐年升高，人们今天记忆中最热的热浪夏天似乎会被新的高温纪录远远落在后面。
Yeah, the summer of 1998 was by far the hottest summer on record at the time, thanks to a blockbuster El Nino event, but it's now the 10th hottest.
是的，1998年夏天是当时有记录以来最热的夏天，原因是当时发生了轰动一时的厄尔尼诺事件，但现在那个夏天也只能排到第10热。
Speaking of El Nino, forecasters are expecting one to develop this year. Can you remind us what an El Nino actually is?
说到厄尔尼诺，天气预报员预测今年会出现。你能为我们讲讲厄尔尼诺到底是什么吗?
An El Nino happens when ocean waters in the eastern part of the tropical Pacific are hotter than usual.
当热带太平洋东部的海水比平时温度更高时，就会发生厄尔尼诺现象。
The heat that releases into the atmosphere shifts around some of the big air circulation patterns that influence weather all over the world. That heat also amps up global temperatures.
释放到大气中的热量围绕着一些影响全球天气的大型空气环流模式发生变化。这种热量也使全球气温升高。
And how likely is it that we'll see one this year?
我们今年看到厄尔尼诺的可能性有多大?
There's about a 90 percent chance right now, and it's looking like it could be a fairly strong one, which would mean big weather impacts all over the world.
现在有约90%的可能性，看起来会是一个超强厄尔尼诺事件，也就是说，会严重影响全球天气。
What kind of weather impacts might it have?
厄尔尼诺会对天气产生什么样的影响?
So, in some places like Indonesia, it actually is a lot drier than normal, and they end up with drought and sometimes wildfires that spew tons of smoke in the atmosphere.
在像印度尼西亚的一些地方，天气实际上比平时干燥得多，那里最终遭遇干旱，时不时会起几场向大气中喷射成吨烟雾的野火。
In other places, it can cause flooding because of higher-than-normal rains.
在其他地方，由于降雨量高于平时，厄尔尼诺可能会导致洪水泛滥。
And in the Atlantic Ocean, it actually tamps down on hurricane development, and so we tend to have quieter hurricane seasons when there's an El Nino.
在大西洋，厄尔尼诺实际上抑制了飓风发展。因此，当厄尔尼诺现象发生时，我们往往会迎来更平静的飓风季节。
Wow, that's really interesting. Okay, so not every summer is going to be a scorcher or hotter than the last one, but it's pretty clear we're going to have to adapt to having more hot weather.
哇，真的很有趣。好，不是每个夏天都会比前一年更炎热，但显而易见，我们将不得不适应更热的天气。
And it can seem like something we're powerless to stop, but we can actually control just how hot the summers of the future are.
这似乎是我们无力阻止的事情，但我们实际上可以控制未来夏天的炎热程度。
The faster we bring down greenhouse gas emissions, the less roasting and deadly those future summers will be.
我们减少温室气体排放的速度越快，未来夏天就越不那么炎热和致命。
Local policy interventions can also help, like by creating more green spaces in cities or by painting building roofs white so they reflect more sunlight.
地方政策干预也会有所帮助，比如在城市中创造更多的绿色空间，或者把建筑物的屋顶涂成白色，这样屋顶就能反射更多的阳光。
If you find yourself in a heat wave this summer and want to know how to keep cool, we have an FAQ linked in the show notes.
如果你发现自己今年夏天要经历热浪，想知道如何保持凉爽，我们在节目说明中放了一个常见问题解答链接。
It covers the difference between heat stroke and heat exhaustion, what to do if the power goes out and at-home heat remedies.
它涵盖了中暑和热衰竭的区别，如果身体无力怎么做，以及家庭去热疗法。
Personally, I'm a fan of a nice cold ice pack on the neck-and so is my dog.
就我个人而言，我喜欢在脖子处敷冰袋——我的狗也喜欢这样。
Aww, that's so sweet. Last summer personally I got by with lots of cold showers, frozen washcloths and occasionally sleeping in the living room right next to the air conditioner.
哇，你太贴心了。去年夏天，我洗了很多冷水澡，用了无数冰毛巾，偶尔睡在客厅的空调旁边，这样才熬过去。
You've gotta do what you've gotta do to stay cool!
你得做该做的来保持凉爽!
Thanks for listening to Scientific American's Science, Quickly.
感谢收听《科学美国人》的“科学快播”节目。
The show is produced by Jeff DelViscio, Tulika Bose and Kelso Harper. It is edited by Alexa Lim and Elah Feder. Our music is by Dominic Smith.
本节目由杰夫·德尔维西奥、图利卡·博斯与凯尔索·哈珀制作。本文由亚历克莎·林与以拉·菲德尔编辑。音乐由多米尼克·史密斯制作。
If you liked this show, please consider leaving a rating or review. And check out ScientificAmerican.com for more in-depth news and features on all things earth and environment and everything else.
如果你喜欢本期节目，请给我们打分、评论。登录ScientificAmerican.com获取更多关于地球、环境和其他事物的深度新闻和专题新闻。
For Science, Quickly, I'm Andrea Thompson.
感谢收听“科学快播”，我是安德里亚·汤普森。
I'm Kelso Harper.
我是凯尔索·哈珀。
Until next time, stay cool!
下期节目再见，保持凉爽!
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