【精英翻譯】的部落格

Climate change to cause humid heatwaves that will kill even healthy people 氣候變遷引發潮濕熱浪健康者也可能喪命

精英翻譯社轉自http://iservice.ltn.com.tw/Service/english/english.php?engno=1137092&day=2017-09-21

◎孫宇青

Extreme heatwaves that kill even healthy people within hours will strike parts of the Indian subcontinent unless global carbon emissions are cut sharply and soon, according to new research.

根據最新研究，除非全球碳排放量儘速且大幅降低，否則造成健康者在數小時內死亡的極端熱浪，將會侵襲印度次大陸的部分地區。

The deadly combination of heat and humidity, measured as the "wet bulb" temperature （WBT）, is the focus of the analysis. Once this reaches 35C, the human body cannot cool itself by sweating and even fit people sitting in the shade will die within six hours.

高溫與潮濕兩種情況同時發生的致命性—即「濕球溫度」（WBT），是分析的重點。一旦濕球溫度達到攝氏35度，人體就無法藉由排汗降熱，甚至連體態良好的人坐在蔭涼處，也會在6小時內死亡。

"It presents a dilemma for India between the need to grow economically at a fast pace by consuming fossil fules, and the need to avoid such potentially lethal impacts," said Prof Elfatih Eltahir, at Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the US who led the study.

主持這項研究的美國麻省理工學院教授阿塔爾說：「印度正面臨兩難，一方面必須藉燃燒化石燃料推動經濟快速成長，一方面又必須避免潛在的致命後果。」

Heatwaves are already a major risk in South Asia, with 3,500 people died in 2015. India even recorded its hottest ever day in 2016 when the temperature in the city of Phalodi, Rajasthan, hit 51C.

熱浪已是南亞重大危機之一，2015年便曾造成3500人死亡。印度拉吉斯坦邦的帕洛迪，2016年甚至出現攝氏51度高溫，創下印度最高溫紀錄。

Eltahir said poor farmers are most at risk from future humid heatwaves, but have contributed very little to the greenhouse gases.

阿塔爾表示，今後當潮濕熱浪來襲時，貧窮的農夫面臨最大風險，但他們極少製造溫室氣體。