VOA新闻杂志2024 北极寒流席卷美国

北极寒流席卷美国

　　Many parts of the world have experienced record-high temperatures in recent days.

　　最近几天，世界上许多地区都经历了创纪录的高温。

　　But much of the United States is dealing with extremely cold weather, thanks to what is known as a polar vortex.

　　但由于所谓的极地涡旋，美国大部分地区都在应对极端寒冷的天气。

　　A map showing world temperatures over the last several days had a dark red color in the Arctic, Asia, the Middle East, South America and parts of Africa.

　　一张显示过去几天全球气温的地图显示，北极、亚洲、中东、南美和非洲部分地区呈深红色。

　　The dark red means the temperatures are 7 degrees Celsius warmer than the average from just over 20 years ago.

　　深红色表示气温比20多年前的平均温度高出7摄氏度。

　　The United States is one of the only places on the map that is dark blue, meaning very cold.

　　美国是地图上仅有的几个显示为深蓝色的地方之一，深蓝色表示非常寒冷。

　　In the state of North Dakota, wind chills reached minus 56 degrees Celsius.

　　在北达科他州，风寒达到零下56摄氏度。

　　Last week in the state of Missouri, a professional American football game took place as temperatures dropped to minus 20 degrees Celsius.

　　上周，在密苏里州，一场职业美式橄榄球比赛在气温降至零下20摄氏度的情况下进行。

　　On the other side of the world, the world's top tennis players are playing in unusually warm weather in Melbourne, Australia.

　　在世界的另一端，世界顶尖网球选手们正在澳大利亚墨尔本异常温暖的天气中比赛。

　　The Australian Open is taking place as the city records temperatures nearly 7 degrees warmer than average.

　　澳大利亚网球公开赛举行之际，该市的气温比平均气温高出近7度。

　　The African nation of Oman is in the northern hemisphere, where it is winter.

　　非洲国家阿曼位于北半球，那里正处于冬季。

　　It recently set a record for the warmest January night at 26.4 Celsius.

　　最近，该国创下了1月份最温暖夜晚的纪录，气温达到26.4摄氏度。

　　Parts of the southern hemisphere are experiencing warmer-than-usual weather, too.

　　南半球的部分地区也正在经历着比往常更温暖的天气。

　　Argentina set a record for warmest January night at 27.3 degrees Celsius.

　　阿根廷以27.3摄氏度创下了1月份最温暖夜晚的纪录。

　　Climate scientists say these extreme temperatures are due to warming in the Arctic.

　　气候科学家表示，这些极端温度是由于北极变暖造成的。

　　They say warming temperatures in the Arctic affect the weather all around the world.

　　他们表示，北极变暖会影响世界各地的天气。

　　The pattern called a polar vortex is not unusual in the Arctic.

　　这种被称为极地涡旋的模式在北极并不罕见。

　　However, experts say as temperatures in the north warm, the polar vortex widens and affects Canada and the United States.

　　然而，专家表示，由于北方气温升高，极地涡旋扩大进而影响加拿大和美国。

　　Jennifer Francis is with the Woodwell Research Center in Massachusetts.

　　詹妮弗·弗朗西斯就职于马萨诸塞州伍德韦尔研究中心。

　　She is a leading researcher in the theory of Arctic Amplification, which links the periods of cold weather to climate change.

　　她是北极放大理论的主要研究人员，该理论将寒冷天气时期与气候变化联系起来。

　　She said, "When the Arctic is off-the-charts warm (like now), we're more likely to see frigid cold invade places like Texas that are ill-equipped to deal with it," she said.

　　她说：“当北极异常温暖时（就像现在），我们更有可能看到严寒侵袭诸如得克萨斯州这样装备不善的地方。”

　　Francis added, "Rapid Arctic warming is one of the clearest symptoms of human-caused climate change."弗朗西斯补充说：“北极迅速变暖是人为引起的气候变化最明显的征候之一。”

　　Judah Cohen works for Atmospheric Environmental Research, a commercial weather company near Boston, Massachusetts.

　　朱达·科恩在马萨诸塞州波士顿附近的一家商业气象公司大气环境研究公司工作。

　　He compared the polar vortex to an ice skater doing a spin.

　　他将极地涡旋比作滑冰者在旋转。

　　When a skater spins very quickly, the "vortex" winds stay close to the skater.

　　当滑冰者旋转得非常快时，“漩涡”风就会紧贴着滑冰者。

　　But if the skater slows down, the winds lose their tight circle.

　　但如果滑冰者减速，风就会失去小圈。

　　"All the cold air then gets released away from the center of the polar vortex," Cohen said.

　　科恩说：“所有的冷空气都会从极地涡旋的中心释放出来。”

　　When that happens in January, the target of the cold air is the United States.

　　当这种情况在1月份发生时，冷空气的目标是美国。

　　Cohen said the current polar vortex is stronger and longer lasting than usual.

　　科恩说，目前的极地涡旋比往常更强，持续时间更长。

　　Marshall Shepherd is a meteorology professor at the University of Georgia.

　　马歇尔·谢泼德是佐治亚大学的气象学教授。

　　He said that right now, there is a "complex interaction within our climate system."他说，目前，“我们的气候系统内部存在着复杂的相互作用”。

　　"Winter will always bring us cold weather, but like the warm season, it may be changing [in] ways that we understand and [in] ways that we are still learning about," Shepherd said.

　　谢泼德说：“冬天总是会给我们带来寒冷的天气，但就像温暖的季节一样，它可能会以我们理解的方式和我们仍在了解的方式发生变化。”

　　The weather experts said the extreme cold in the U.S. will change to unusually warm weather in several days.

　　气象专家表示，美国的极端寒冷天气将会在几天内转变为异常温暖的天气。

　　But another polar vortex is expected to hit at the end of January.

　　但另一个极地涡旋预计将会在1月底来袭。