A recent analysis of climate trends in several of South Asia’s biggest cities
對南亞幾個一線城市的氣候趨勢分析發現,
found that if current warming trends continued, by the end of the century,
如果當前的氣候變暖趨勢繼續惡化,
heat and humidity levels would be so high that people directly exposed for six hours or more would not survive.
本世紀末的氣溫和濕度將高到人直接暴露在室外6個小時就將面臨生命危險的水平。
The latest victims of this year’s weekslong heat wave were 4 people, ranging in age from 69 to 80,
今年的熱浪天氣已經持續數周,最近又新增了4名受害者,他們年齡均在69~80歲之間,
who died on Tuesday during a journey on a train that lacked air-conditioning.
死亡時間都是周二且都死于(北方邦)一列沒有空調的火車上。
Despite the extreme temperatures, the death toll this year has been small compared to previous years.
盡管出現了這樣的極端高溫天氣,今年的死亡人數與往年相比反而有所減少。
More than 6,000 people have died because of heat waves in India since 2010, according to government data.
政府數據顯示,自2010年以來,印度已有逾6000人死于熱浪天氣。
The worst toll came in 2015, with more than 2,000 deaths.
其中,死亡人數最多的一年是2015年,死亡人數超過了2000人。
While the heat waves have continued, the number of immediate heat deaths has significantly declined since then —
那以后,雖然熱浪天氣仍在繼續,但中暑直接死亡的人數已明顯下降——
375 were recorded in 2017, and only 20 in 2018.
記錄顯示,2017年的人數為375人,2018年只有20人。
But official death tolls often fail to capture the full lethality of a heat wave.
但官方公布的死亡人數往往無法完全反映熱浪的致命程度。
One study by public health researchers found that in the normally hot city of Ahmedabad, in western India,
公共衛生研究人員的一項研究發現,在天氣通常都很炎熱的印度西部城市艾哈邁達巴德,
as temperatures soared in May 2010 to 118 degrees Fahrenheit,
2010年5月氣溫飆升至118℉時,
there was a 43 percent increase in overall mortality, compared to the same period in previous years.
與前幾年同期相比,總體死亡率上升了43%。

Yet officials and analysts attribute the decline in recorded deaths to increased precautions by the government since 2015.
但官員和分析人士將統計的死亡人數的下降歸因于自2015年以來政府加強了預防措施上。
Government officials have urged Indian employers to reduce and change work hours during heat waves,
政府官員已經敦促印度企業單位,尤其是建筑工地之類的戶外工作場所,
particularly in outdoor areas such as construction sites,
減少并調整熱浪期間的工作時間,
and have provided free drinking water in particularly vulnerable and crowded areas.
還在特別容易受高溫影響,人流量又很大的地區為大家提供免費飲用水。
Mr. Srivastava said the disaster management authority had set a goal this year of keeping the death toll to single digits.
斯里瓦斯塔瓦說,災害管理局為今年設定的目標是將死亡人數控制在個位數。
But the country’s huge national election complicated the efforts, he said,
但他說,該國規模巨大的全國大選加大了這些努力的難度,
because government workers who were needed to issue the warning measures were instead deployed on election duty.
因為本該通報警告措施的政府工作人員被派去執行選舉任務了。
In the western state of Gujarat, officials were bracing for extreme weather of a different sort:
在西部的古吉拉特邦,官員們正準備應對另一種極端天氣:
A major cyclone was approaching with winds over 100 miles an hour.
一場時速逾100英里的熱帶氣旋風暴正在逼近。
Flights and train journeys were canceled, and about 300,000 people were evacuated.
航班和火車已被取消,約30萬人被疏散撤離。
But early Thursday it appeared that the cyclone might skirt the city.
但照周四早間的情形來看,颶風可能會繞過這座城市。
It was the second major storm facing India this year.
這是印度今年面臨的第二個大氣旋了。
In March, another cyclone in eastern India.
今年3月,印度東部(的奧里薩邦)就已經遭遇了一次強氣旋。
The early warning system worked remarkably well there,
那一次,當地的早期預警系統表現極為出色,
with the government evacuating about a million people and avoiding the widespread deaths caused by past storms.
政府疏散了約100萬人,避免了重蹈風暴造成大面積死亡的覆轍。
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