The climate 气候

Man it does show signs of stopping

Late snowfall in the West is part of a pattern, increasing the risk of drought

第一段：

Every december residents of Denver, Colorado hang holiday lights and decorate trees—and the occasional cactus—in their front yards. But this year one thing is missing from the festive picture: snow. As of December 8th, Denverites had yet to see any snow land on their yellowing lawns, making it the latest first snowfall since records began in 1882. And Colorado’s capital is not alone, for the white stuff is scarce this year across the American West. A new study suggests future winters might not bring much either.

每年12月，科罗拉多州丹佛市的居民都会在各家前院挂起节日彩灯，装饰圣诞树——偶尔也会装饰仙人掌。但是今年，节日图景中却缺了一样东西：雪。直到12月8日，丹佛居民还没见到一片雪花飘落在自己泛黄的草地上，这是自1882年有记录以来最迟的初雪。而这座科罗拉多州的首府并非特例，今年整个美国西部都普遍降雪稀少。一项新研究显示，未来冬天也不一定会出现大降雪。

第二段：

The snow that builds up in mountain ranges over the winter, called snowpack, is a natural reservoir. In the spring, when it melts, its waters replenish rivers, man-made reservoirs and soil. The amount of water that makes it into reservoirs each year depends on temperatures, evaporation and run-off, or how much soaks into the ground. But warmer winters in the western states, one consequence of climate change, have led to a decline in average snowpack. One study published in 2018 found that annual snowpack in the region had decreased by 15-30% since 1915.

积雪就是冬天堆积在山脉中的雪，它是一个天然蓄水池。春天积雪融化，融水可以补充河流和人工水库，滋润土壤。每年注入水库的融水量，取决于气温、蒸发和径流，或地下渗水量。但气候变化的其中一个后果就是美国西部遭遇暖冬，这导致平均积雪量下降。2018年的一项研究发现，自1915年以来该地区年积雪量已减少了15-30%。

第三段：

The future looks bleaker still. A new paper by researchers at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California found that mountain snowpack in the West could decline by an average of 25% by 2050. The rate varies across four mountain ranges studied. The Sierras and the Cascades could see a 45% decline in snowpack by mid-century, compared with 20-30% declines for the Rockies and the Wasatch/Uinta. So a snowless future seems more imminent in California and the Pacific Northwest than further inland.

前景则更为惨淡。加利福尼亚州劳伦斯伯克利国家实验室的研究员发表了一篇新论文，指出到2050年美国西部山区积雪量平均或会减少25%。具体比率在本研究所涉及的四座山脉中有所不同。到本世纪中，内华达山脉和卡斯卡特山脉的积雪量将下降45%，而洛基山脉和瓦萨奇/尤因塔山脉的积雪量或会下降20-30%。因此，对于加利福尼亚州和太平洋西北地区，未来冬季无雪似乎比内陆地区更为迫在眉睫。

第四段：

The West has had bouts of “snow drought” before. But they look set to become more common. Researchers suggest that California could experience persistent “low-to-no snow” by the 2050s with the Rocky Mountain states following in the 2070s. Many places are already preparing for a drier future. California’s Department of Water Resources recently warned that next year the State Water Project, a storage and delivery system that runs through the middle of the state, will initially only provide water for “health and safety” needs. Arizona is readying for cuts to its allotment of the Colorado River, which supplies water to 40m people across the south-west.

过去西部也爆发过“雪荒”。但看起来“雪荒”将变得更为普遍。研究人员估计，到本世纪50年代，加利福尼亚可能会长期出现“低到无雪”情况，到70年代，位于落基山脉的各州将会经历同一状况。很多地方已开始为未来缺水做准备。加利福尼亚水资源部门最近发出警告，下一年，加州调水工程（这是一个贯穿加州中部的储水运水系统）将只为“健康和安全”需求供水。亚利桑那州则准备削减科罗拉多河的取水配额，科罗拉多河为整个西南部的4千万居民供水。