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 /ˌmiːtɪərəˈlɒdʒɪkəl/ 气象学的

WMO： 世界气象组织（World Meteorological Organisation）

searing  adj. /ˈsɪərɪŋ/  

1.so strong that it seems to burn you 灼人的；火辣辣的 •the searing heat of a tropical summer 热带夏季灼人的热浪 •searing pain 火辣辣的疼痛

2.( of words or speech 文字或话语 ) powerful and critical 猛烈批评的

“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):美国国家海洋和大气管理局

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. /kənˈsekjətɪv/  [ usually before noun ] following one after another in a series, without interruption 连续不断的 • She was absent for nine consecutive days. 她一连缺席了九天。

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  /bleɪz/  

名词 1.( 尤用于报章 ) 烈火；火灾•Five people died in the blaze. 火灾中有五人丧生。2. 火焰 •Dry wood makes a good blaze. 干木柴烧得旺。 3. a ~ of sth（光或色彩等的）展现•The gardens are a blaze of colour. 花园里姹紫嫣红。 •the bright blaze of the sun 太阳的光辉 •a blaze of glory 荣耀 4. (a) ~ of sth （感情的）迸发，发泄 •a blaze of anger/passion/hate 怒火╱激情╱仇恨的迸发 5.（动物面部的）白斑

动词 1.熊熊燃烧 •A huge fire was blazing in the fireplace. 壁炉中火烧得正旺。2.闪耀；发亮光 •The garden blazed with colour. 花园里姹紫嫣红。 3.~ (with sth)  怒视；（怒火）燃烧 •Her eyes were blazing with fury. 她的双眼燃烧着怒火。 4. [ usually passive ] ( also blazon ) ~ sth (across/all over sth)  大肆宣扬 •The story was blazed all over the daily papers. 那个传闻被各家报纸炒得沸沸扬扬。5.~ (away) if a gun or sb using a gun blazes , the gun fires continuously 连续射击 •In the distance machine guns were blazing. 机关枪在远处不停地射击。  

IDIOMS 习语

1. what/where/who the ˈblazes...?（委婉语，烦恼和惊奇时说，与hell同义） •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 ˈtrail：作开路先锋；领先

“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 /ˈɔːrəɡən/ n. 俄勒冈州（美国州名）

raze  v. /reɪz/  彻底摧毁；将…夷为平地 • The village was razed to the ground . 这座村庄被夷为平地。

evacuation /ɪˌvækjuˈeɪʃn/ n. 疏散；撤离；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 /ˈbɪləʊ/  

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. 微风吹得窗帘鼓了起来。

2.if smoke, cloud, etc. billows , it rises and moves in a large mass （烟雾）涌出，汹涌向前；大量冒出 •A great cloud of smoke billowed out of the chimney. 滚滚浓烟从烟囱中喷涌而出。

3.波涛般的浓烟（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. /ˈheɪzi/  

1.朦胧的；薄雾蒙蒙的 •a hazy afternoon/sky 雾蒙蒙的下午╱天空•hazy light/sunshine 朦胧的光线╱阳光

2.记不清的；模糊的 •a hazy memory/idea 模糊不清的记忆╱概念

3.(人) 主意不定的；困惑的•I'm a little hazy about what to do next. 我还有点拿不准下一步要做什么呢

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. /ˈtɪndə(r)/  引火物；火绒；火种 • The fire started late Saturday in tinder-dry grass near the Snake River. 大火是星期六晚些时候在斯内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./skɔːtʃ/  

1.（把…）烫坏，烧煳；烤焦（物体表面） •I scorched my dress when I was ironing it. 我把自己的连衣裙熨焦了。 •Don't stand so near the fire—your coat is scorching! 别站得离火那么近—你的外衣都快烤焦了！

2.（使）枯黄，枯萎（尤指因曝晒或化学品的作用） •scorched grass 枯草

3.[ V + adv./prep. ] ( BrE informal ) to move very fast 疾驰；飞驰 •The car scorched off down the road. 汽车沿公路飞驰而去。

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. /ˈsaɪkləʊn/  气旋；旋风

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.

原文链接：https://news.un.org/en/story/2020/09/1072412