Pakistan Among Developing Counties Hit Hard by Global Warming

Pakistan Among Developing Counties Hit Hard by Global Warming

KARACHI—

As world leaders meet in Paris to craft a new global agreement aimed at cutting climate-changing greenhouse-gas emissions¹, many developing countries are watching closely for the final results. While most developing nations contribute much less to global warming than developed countries, they often feel the effects to a disproportionate degree.

In Karachi, for example, residents such as Aamir Rizvi remember last summer's suffocating² heat wave, which caused more than 1,300 deaths.

"I had stepped out to buy some groceries from a store that must not have been more than 25 steps or so from my house,” he said. “I came back with some stuff and, the moment I made it back into the house, I couldn't feel my legs. Then my arms got numb³, and my heart started sinking."

Many of the thousands of victims were brought to Karachi's Jinnah Hospital, where Dr. Seemi Jamali is head of the emergency department.

"Suddenly, huge numbers of patients with heat stroke or with heat emergency started pouring in,” she said. “No warning of any kind was given for us to expect such a severe heat wave. Within 4 days, there were at least 10,000 patients that were brought to us."

Intensity⁴ expected to ramp⁵ up

Meteorologists believe the heat wave was a result of the increase in global warming. They expect both summers and winters to become more intense.

Government officials say Pakistan and other developing nations should be given support in dealing⁶ with climate change and, at the very least, developed nations must agree to cut down their own greenhouse gas emissions as much as possible.

"We expect that these developed nations will put some restrictions⁷ or constraints⁸ on their own emissions,” said Arif Ahmed Khan, the Pakistani Ministry⁹ of Climate Change. “And then they must also support developing nations like us, financially, in the transfer of technology, as well as in capacity building."

1 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。

2 suffocating   

a.使人窒息的

参考例句：

• After a few weeks with her parents, she felt she was suffocating.和父母呆了几个星期后，她感到自己毫无自由。
• That's better. I was suffocating in that cell of a room.这样好些了，我刚才在那个小房间里快闷死了。

3 numb   

adj.麻木的，失去感觉的；v.使麻木

参考例句：

• His fingers were numb with cold.他的手冻得发麻。
• Numb with cold,we urged the weary horses forward.我们冻得发僵，催着疲惫的马继续往前走。

4 intensity   

n.强烈，剧烈；强度；烈度

参考例句：

• I didn't realize the intensity of people's feelings on this issue.我没有意识到这一问题能引起群情激奋。
• The strike is growing in intensity.罢工日益加剧。

5 ramp   

n.暴怒，斜坡，坡道；vi.作恐吓姿势，暴怒，加速；vt.加速

参考例句：

• That driver drove the car up the ramp.那司机将车开上了斜坡。
• The factory don't have that capacity to ramp up.这家工厂没有能力加速生产。

6 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

7 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

8 constraints   

强制( constraint的名词复数 )； 限制； 约束

参考例句：

• Data and constraints can easily be changed to test theories. 信息库中的数据和限制条件可以轻易地改变以检验假设。 来自英汉非文学 - 科学史
• What are the constraints that each of these imply for any design? 这每种产品的要求和约束对于设计意味着什么？ 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

9 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。