加拿大西部热浪滚滚, 创下17个高温记录(下)

And humidity plays a role in our experience of heat, right?

湿度在我们的高温体验中起着重要作用，对吧?

Yeah, as anyone who’s stepped outside on a summer day knows, high temperatures cause us to sweat. That’s actually the body’s natural cooling system, because the sweat cools our skin as it evaporates.

对，夏天出门的任何人都知道，高温会让我们出汗。这实际上是人体的自然冷却系统在起作用，因为汗水蒸发会让我们的皮肤温度降低。

But when the humidity is high, that evaporation slows down and can eventually stop.

但当湿度较高时，汗水蒸发速度会减慢，最终会停止蒸发。

And with global temperatures rising higher every year, it sounds like the heat waves and summers that are among the hottest in memory today are going to be left in the dust.

随着全球气温逐年升高，人们今天记忆中最热的热浪夏天似乎会被新的高温纪录远远落在后面。

Yeah, the summer of 1998 was by far the hottest summer on record at the time, thanks to a blockbuster El Nino event, but it’s now the 10th hottest.

是的，1998年夏天是当时有记录以来最热的夏天，原因是当时发生了轰动一时的厄尔尼诺事件，但现在那个夏天也只能排到第10热。

Speaking of El Nino, forecasters are expecting one to develop this year. Can you remind us what an El Nino actually is?

说到厄尔尼诺，天气预报员预测今年会出现。你能为我们讲讲厄尔尼诺到底是什么吗?

An El Nino happens when ocean waters in the eastern part of the tropical Pacific are hotter than usual.

当热带太平洋东部的海水比平时温度更高时，就会发生厄尔尼诺现象。

The heat that releases into the atmosphere shifts around some of the big air circulation patterns that influence weather all over the world. That heat also amps up global temperatures.

释放到大气中的高温改变影响全球天气的大气环流模式。这种高温也使全球气温升高。

And how likely is it that we’ll see one this year?

我们今年看到厄尔尼诺的可能性有多大?

There’s about a 90 percent chance right now, and it’s looking like it could be a fairly strong one, which would mean big weather impacts all over the world.

现在有约90%的可能性，看起来会是一个超强厄尔尼诺事件，也就是说，会严重影响全球天气。

What kind of weather impacts might it have?

厄尔尼诺会对天气产生什么样的影响?

So, in some places like Indonesia, it actually is a lot drier than normal, and they end up with drought and sometimes wildfires that spew tons of smoke in the atmosphere.

在像印度尼西亚的一些地方，天气实际上比平时干燥得多，那里最终遭遇干旱，时不时会起几场向大气中喷射成吨烟雾的野火。

In other places, it can cause flooding because of higher-than-normal rains.

在其他地方，由于降雨量高于平时，厄尔尼诺可能会导致洪水泛滥。

And in the Atlantic Ocean, it actually tamps down on hurricane development, and so we tend to have quieter hurricane seasons when there’s an El Nino.

在大西洋，厄尔尼诺实际上抑制了飓风发展。因此，当厄尔尼诺现象发生时，我们往往会迎来更平静的飓风季节。

Wow, that’s really interesting. Okay, so not every summer is going to be a scorcher or hotter than the last one, but it’s pretty clear we’re going to have to adapt to having more hot weather.

哇，真的很有趣。好，不是每个夏天都会比前一年更炎热，但显而易见，我们将不得不适应更热的天气。

And it can seem like something we’re powerless to stop, but we can actually control just how hot the summers of the future are.

这似乎是我们无力阻止的事情，但我们实际上可以控制未来夏天的炎热程度。

The faster we bring down greenhouse gas emissions, the less roasting and deadly those future summers will be.

我们减少温室气体排放的速度越快，未来夏天就越不那么炎热和致命。

Local policy interventions can also help, like by creating more green spaces in cities or by painting building roofs white so they reflect more sunlight.

地方政策干预也会有所帮助，比如在城市中创造更多的绿色空间，或者把建筑物的屋顶涂成白色，这样屋顶就能反射更多的阳光。

If you find yourself in a heat wave this summer and want to know how to keep cool, we have an FAQ linked in the show notes.

如果你发现自己今年夏天要经历热浪，想知道如何保持凉爽，我们在节目说明中放了一个常见问题解答链接。

It covers the difference between heat stroke and heat exhaustion, what to do if the power goes out and at-home heat remedies.

它涵盖了中暑和热衰竭的区别，如果身体无力怎么做，以及家庭去热疗法。

Personally, I’m a fan of a nice cold ice pack on the neck—and so is my dog.

就我个人而言，我喜欢在脖子处敷冰袋——我的狗也喜欢这样。

Aww, that’s so sweet. Last summer personally I got by with lots of cold showers, frozen washcloths and occasionally sleeping in the living room right next to the air conditioner.

哇，你太贴心了。去年夏天，我洗了很多冷水澡，用了无数冰毛巾，偶尔睡在客厅的空调旁边，这样才熬过去。

You’ve gotta do what you’ve gotta do to stay cool!

你得做该做的来保持凉爽!

Thanks for listening to Scientific American’s Science, Quickly.

感谢收听《科学美国人》的“科学快播”节目。

The show is produced by Jeff DelViscio, Tulika Bose and Kelso Harper. It is edited by Alexa Lim and Elah Feder. Our music is by Dominic Smith.

本节目由杰夫·德尔维西奥、图利卡·博斯与凯尔索·哈珀制作。本文由亚历克莎·林与以拉·菲德尔编辑。音乐由多米尼克·史密斯制作。

If you liked this show, please consider leaving a rating or review. And check out ScientificAmerican.com for more in-depth news and features on all things earth and environment and everything else.

如果你喜欢本期节目，请给我们打分、评论。登录ScientificAmerican.com获取更多关于地球、环境和其他事物的深度新闻和专题新闻。

For Science, Quickly, I’m Andrea Thompson.

感谢收听“科学快播”，我是安德里亚·汤普森。

I’m Kelso Harper.

我是凯尔索·哈珀。

Until next time, stay cool!

下期节目再见，保持凉爽!