20年内60万人死于极端天气

Extreme Weather Tied to Over 600,000 Deaths Over 2 Decades
20年内60万人死于极端天气

GENEVA ― Weather-related disasters in the past two decades have killed more than 600,000 people and inflicted economic losses estimated at trillions of dollars, the United Nations said on Monday, warning that the frequency and impact of such events was set to rise.

日内瓦――联合国周一表示，在过去二十年里，与天气有关的灾害夺去了60多万人的生命，并造成数万亿美元的经济损失。它还发出警告，此类灾害发生的频率未来还会加大，其影响力也会进一步增强。

The figures were released before a United Nations-backed climate meeting, starting next Monday in Paris, at which more than 120 national leaders will try to rein in greenhouse gas emissions and slow the rise in global temperatures.

这些数字是在联合国支持召开的全球气候会议前夕发布的。该会议将于下周一在巴黎揭幕，届时120多个国家的领导人将一起商讨对策，竭力控制温室气体排放，减慢全球气温上升的速度。

According to the report from the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, the United States has suffered the highest number of weather-related disasters in the past two decades, but China and India have been the most severely affected, enduring floods that had an impact on billions of people.

联合国减灾办公室(United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction)发布的这份报告显示，在过去二十年里，美国出现的与天气有关的灾害数量最多，但中国和印度是受影响最大的国家，有上十亿人遭受过洪灾。

As well as killing hundreds of thousands, weather-related disasters wounded 4.1 billion others and inflicted economic costs well in excess of $1.9 trillion over the two decades, the report found.

该报告还发现，在过去二十年里，除了导致数十万人丧生，与天气有关的灾害还导致另外41亿人受伤，并带来超过1.9万亿美元的经济损失。

The United Nations office recorded an average of 335 weather-related disasters every year over the two decades, double the level in the previous 10 years. The report counted events that had killed 10 or more people, affected more than 1,000 and generated appeals for external assistance.

据联合国减灾办公室统计，过去二十年，美国每年平均有335起与天气有关的灾害发生，与之前十年的水平相比，频率翻倍。该报告统计的是死亡人数至少为十人，影响人数逾千并需要外部援助的事件的数量。

“Predictions of more extreme weather in the future almost certainly means that we will witness a continued upward trend in weather-related disasters in the decades ahead,” the report said.

“对未来更加极端的天气状况的预测显示，接下来的几十年，我们几乎必然会看到，与天气相关的灾害持续增加，”文中写道。

In a foreword to the findings, Margareta Wahlstrom, the head of the disaster reduction office, said the findings “underline why it is so important that a new climate change agreement emerges” from the summit meeting in Paris.

在这份报告的前言中，联合国减灾办公室负责人玛格丽塔・瓦尔斯特伦(Margareta Wahlstrom)表示，这些发现“突显出”在巴黎举行的气候峰会上“达成新的气候变化协议为何如此重要”。

Citing the rising temperature of the oceans and melting glaciers as two central drivers of extreme weather, Ms. Wahlstrom said that agreement on reducing greenhouse gas emissions would help reduce the huge damage and losses inflicted by disasters linked to climate.

瓦尔斯特伦指出，海洋温度上升和冰川融化是极端天气状况出现的两大核心因素，而削减温室气体排放的协议将有助于减少与气候有关的灾害带来的巨大伤亡和损失。

The connection between extreme weather and climate change is not always clear. There is strong evidence that the warming climate is creating more frequent and intense heat waves, causing heavier rainstorms, worsening coastal flooding and intensifying some droughts, but for many other types of weather occurrences, the linkage is less clear.

极端天气和气候变化之间的联系并不总是那么明确。有强有力的证据表明，气候变暖在制造频次更多、强度更大的热浪，引发更严重的风暴，加重沿海洪灾和一些地区的旱灾。不过，在很多其他类型的天气状况方面，就不大能确定它们是否和气候变化有关。

Floods accounted for close to half of all the weather-related disasters, affecting 2.3 billion people, mostly in Asia, the report found. Storms had taken the heaviest toll of lives, however, causing about 242,000 recorded deaths, including 138,000 killed by Cyclone Nargis, which struck Myanmar in 2008.

该报告显示，与天气有关的灾害有将近一半是洪灾，波及23亿人，大多数是在亚洲地区。不过，造成人员伤亡最大的是风暴，它导致的有记录的死亡人数约为24.2万，其中单单2008年缅甸遭遇的热带气旋“纳尔吉斯”(Cyclone Nargis)就造成了13.8万人死亡。

Droughts, most acute in Africa, had affected more than a billion people in the past two decades, leading not only to hunger, malnutrition and disease but also to widespread agricultural failure that resulted in long-lasting underdevelopment, the report said.

该报告称，过去二十年，干旱问题――在非洲最为严重――影响了逾10亿人。它不仅会使人饥饿、营养不良和患病，还会导致广泛的农业欠收，致使该地区长期落后。

Heat waves had killed 148,000, mostly in Europe, and wildfires had emerged as another climate-related risk, according to the report. About 38 major wildfires in the United States were estimated to have affected more than 108,000 people and caused recorded losses of over $11 billion ― numbers the report said were sure to rise when fires that were raging after August 2015, the cutoff point for data, were taken into account.

报告还显示，热浪导致了14.8万人死亡，大部分是在欧洲，而山火作为另一种与气候有关的隐患，也开始显现。美国大概发生了38起重大山火灾难，影响人数超过10.8万人，造成的经济损失逾110亿美元。报告提示，考虑到统计截止时间是在2015年8月，而之后此类灾害肆虐，这些数字显然还会升高。

The figure of $1.9 trillion for the worldwide cost of the disasters was drawn up for the United Nations by the Center for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters, based in Belgium. The center said that figure was a minimum, however, as data was available for only a little more than a third of the recorded disasters.

全球灾难带来的19万亿美元的损失这一数字，是由位于比利时的灾害流行病学研究中心(Center for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters)得出的。不过该中心表示，这个数字仅为最低值，因为他们只拿到了将将超过三分之一的灾难统计数据。