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Its signs are subtle and slow: the earth dries; water levels fall; the rains do not come; and the land is gripped by drought.
干旱的跡象很微小很緩慢：地面干燥；水位下降；雨季不到；土地龜裂。
At its most basic, a drought occurs when more water is used than is replenished.
最根本的原因是，當水量應用超過水量補給時，就會發生干旱。
It is a balance between supply and demand, with both natural and human factors in play.
供給和需求之間有一個平衡點，這要考慮自然和認為因素。
The weather is constantly in flux. A low pressure system allows moist air to rise, cool and form rain clouds.
天氣是變幻無常的。低氣壓系統使潮濕的空氣上升，冷凝，形成降雨云。
A high pressure system traps the air beneath it, and banishes the clouds.
高氣壓系統擠壓下面的空氣，將云消除。
Droughts form when changing wind patterns cause high pressure systems to last for months, or even years.
當變化的風向造成高氣壓系統持續數月甚至幾年的時間時就會發生干旱。
Aggravating the problem is society's demand for water. Farms are heavily dependent on water to irrigate crops and provide pasture for livestock.
社會對水的需求量使這個問題更加惡化。農田以來水來灌溉作物，為牲畜提供牧場。
Urban areas also place huge demands on available water supplies. If the demand can't be reduced, then the drought begins to take its toll.
城市地區也對可用水供應有大量需求。如果需求兩不能降低，干旱就會造成損失。
Crops eventually wither and die. Soil erodes away into clouds of dust. Forest fires spread rapidly.
莊稼最終枯萎，死亡。土壤變成灰塵流失。森林大火迅速蔓延。
The damage to the environment has large-scale consequences for us human population.
對環境造成的損害也對人類造成大規模的影響。
Short-term droughts cause stress on both the environment and people.
短期干旱對環境和人類都造成壓力。
Long-term droughts can lead to war, famine, disease or mass migrations.
長期的干旱可能會導致戰爭，饑荒，疾病和大規模的人口遷移。
In the 1930s, a severe drought in the Great Plains caused massive crop failures. In some places, the drought lasted 8 years.
上世紀30年代，大平原地區發生了嚴重的干旱，導致大面積作物歉收。在有些地區，干旱持續了長達八年時間。
So much soil blew away became known as the Dust Bowl.
土壤被風吹走，形成人所共知的沙塵暴。
Over 50 million acres of land were affected, forcing many farmers to abandon their own property.
5000多萬英畝的土地受到影響，許多農民被迫遺棄他們的財產。
But by historical standards, the Dust Bowl was mild and short-lived. Some droughts have lasted for decades.
但是根據歷史標準，沙塵暴不比較溫和，持續時間比較短。有的干旱延續達幾十年之久，
The famines they create have killed over 40 million people in the 20th century alone.
造成的饑荒僅僅在20世紀就使4000多萬人喪命。
Like other forms of weather, droughts are one of the earth's natural processes. There is very little we can do to stop them.
像其他形式的天氣一樣，干旱是地球自然過程的一種。我們無法阻止他們。
The best we can do is prepare for when droughts do come before everything blows away.
我們能做到最好的就是當為干旱做好準備，以防一切都被吹走。
