2007年VOA标准英语-Study Links Global Warming, Severe Droughts in

By Chad Bouchard
2-337522
21 January 2007

A farmer carries buckets of water collected from a drying pond in Rembang, Central Java, Indonesia

As Indonesia copes with one of its driest rainy seasons on record, a climate change study indicates global warming will lead to prolonged and more severe droughts in Indonesia and Australia in the future. Chad Bouchard reports from Jakarta.

Climate experts say new evidence suggests Indonesia's seasonal¹ rains will diminish as global temperatures continue to rise.

That could mean a devastating² blow to the country's tropical agriculture and spark more haze-producing wildfires each year.

A new study used samples of coral to track rainfall patterns from more than 6,000 years ago. The study was published a few days ago in the journal Nature.

Study co-author Nerilie Abram says the new data suggest an unexpected link between monsoons⁴ and droughts in countries surrounding the Indian Ocean.

"And so the implication is that with monsoon³ strengthening we expect that parts of Asia and India, where you receive monsoon rainfall, are likely to get wetter. But the knock-on effect is that parts of Indonesia and Australia are likely to get dryer," said Abram.

This year's drought in Indonesia is caused partly by a natural cycle of cooling in the Indian Ocean much like the El Nino phenomenon in the Pacific Ocean.

But droughts or heavy rainfalls generated by that warming cycle will increase if average global temperatures continue to rise. Many scientists think global warming may be caused in part by increasing emissions⁵ of gases from burning fuels such as oil and coal. They recommend cutting those emissions to halt the rise in temperatures.

Abram is a paleoclimatologist who works with the British Antarctic Survey at Cambridge, in the United Kingdom. In a phone call from Cambridge, she said recently that the coral study shows droughts also are shifting to a different time of year.

"And that the peak of drought could actually shift so that it falls at the time of year when this area receives its most rainfall," added Abram. "So that sort of change could have quite a critical effect on agriculture in the area, and actually change the way that we need to try and adapt to these events."

Millions of impoverished⁶ Indonesians in rural areas depend on subsistence agriculture, which could be harmed by drier weather.

In the past several months, the severe drought was blamed for massive forest fires in Indonesia, which caused thick smog and health problems in neighboring countries.

1 seasonal   

adj.季节的，季节性的

参考例句：

• The town relies on the seasonal tourist industry for jobs.这个城镇依靠季节性旅游业提供就业机会。
• The hors d'oeuvre is seasonal vegetables.餐前小吃是应时蔬菜。

2 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。

3 monsoon   

n.季雨，季风，大雨

参考例句：

• The monsoon rains started early this year.今年季雨降雨开始得早。
• The main climate type in that region is monsoon.那个地区主要以季风气候为主要气候类型。

4 monsoons   

n.（南亚、尤指印度洋的）季风( monsoon的名词复数 )；（与季风相伴的）雨季；（南亚地区的）雨季

参考例句：

• In Ban-gladesh, the monsoons have started. 在孟加拉，雨季已经开始了。 来自辞典例句
• The coastline significantly influences the monsoons in two other respects. 海岸线在另外两个方面大大地影响季风。 来自辞典例句

5 emissions   

排放物( emission的名词复数 )； 散发物（尤指气体）

参考例句：

• Most scientists accept that climate change is linked to carbon emissions. 大多数科学家都相信气候变化与排放的含碳气体有关。
• Dangerous emissions radiate from plutonium. 危险的辐射物从钚放散出来。

6 impoverished   

adj.穷困的，无力的，用尽了的v.使（某人）贫穷( impoverish的过去式和过去分词 )；使（某物）贫瘠或恶化

参考例句：

• the impoverished areas of the city 这个城市的贫民区
• They were impoverished by a prolonged spell of unemployment. 他们因长期失业而一贫如洗。 来自《简明英汉词典》