年是史上最熱年份 Global warming and El Nino make hottest on record
Global warming and a powerful El weather event combined to make 2015 the planet’s hottest year since modern records began in the 1800s, according to scientists, who warned this year could be even warmer.
科學家表示，全球變暖加上強大的厄爾尼諾氣候事件，令2015年成爲自19世紀現代記錄開始以來最熱年份。科學家還警告，今年地球可能會更熱。
Heatwaves around the world, including one in India that led to more than 2,000 deaths and another in Iraq that saw the mercury top 50C, helped push temperatures 1C above pre-industrial levels for the first time, US and UK researchers said.
去年熱浪席捲了全球，印度的高溫天氣導致2000多人死亡，伊拉克夏季高溫達到50攝氏度。美國和英國的研究人員表示，在各地高溫的推動下，去年氣溫首次比工業化之前的水平升高了1攝氏度。
Temperatures in 2015 also shattered the previous record set in 2014 by 0.13C, according to Nasa.
美國航天局(Nasa)表示，2015年氣溫以0.13攝氏度之差，打破了2014年創下的記錄。
“Only once before, in 1998, has the new record been greater than the old record by this much,” the administration added.
美國航天局還表示：“新記錄比舊記錄高出這麼多，以前只有1998年出現過一次。”
Last year was especially striking because global heat records were broken or tied in every month except January and April, researchers said.
研究人員表示，去年之所以特別引人矚目，是因爲除了1月和4月以外，每個月都會創下新的全球高溫記錄，或與記錄持平。
“That’s the first time we’ve seen that,” said Thomas Karl, director of the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s national centres for environmental information.
美國國家海洋與大氣管理局(National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)國家環境信息中心負責人托馬斯慍爾(Thomas Karl)表示：“我們還是第一次看到這種情況。”
Man-made climate change is the main culprit for warming that was leading the world into “uncharted territory”, said Peter Stott, head of climate monitoring and attribution at the UK Met Office’s Hadley Centre for climate research, which released separate findings confirming the US analysis.
英國氣象辦公室哈德萊中心(UK Met Office's Hadley Centre)氣候監測與分析的負責人彼得斯托特(Peter Stott)表示，人爲造成的氣候變化是升溫的罪魁禍首，導致世界進入“未知領域”。哈德萊中心發佈的研究報告也印證了美國研究人員的分析結果。
The current El , a naturally recurring phenomenon that warms the Pacific Ocean, was probably only responsible for about 10 per cent of 2015’s record-breaking temperatures, he added.
斯托特說，對於2015年破紀錄的氣溫來說，當前的厄爾尼諾現象可能只負有10%的責任。厄爾尼諾現象令太平洋海水變暖，是自然界一種經常性現象。
The bulk was due to underlying global warming caused largely by rising emissions of carbon dioxide, the main man-made greenhouse gas produced by burning fossil fuels, such as coal and oil.
大部分原因還是全球變暖，而全球變暖主要是二氧化碳排放量上升造成的。二氧化碳是主要的人爲溫室氣體，通過燃燒煤、石油等化石燃料產生。
Mr Karl added: “We would have likely had a record [year] even without El , but it pushed it way over the top.”
卡爾還表示：“就算沒有厄爾尼諾現象，去年氣溫也有可能創紀錄，但厄爾尼諾現象讓高溫更加極端。”
The scientists’ analysis comes only a month after nearly 200 governments struck a new climate agreement in Paris that aims to stop global temperatures from rising more than 2C from pre-industrial levels, and ideally limit warming to 1.5C.
就在一個月前，近200個國家的政府在巴黎達成了一項新的氣候協議，目標是阻止全球氣溫比工業化前水平上升2攝氏度以上，最好限制在1.5攝氏度以內。
Temperatures had already risen by 0.8C since the industrial revolution and although last year’s 1C rise may not be repeated every year from now on, scientists said 2016 could turn out to be another exceptionally warm year as the El event continues.
自工業革命以來，全球氣溫已經上升了0.8攝氏度。雖然去年1攝氏度的升溫不太可能在今後每年都出現，但科學家表示由於厄爾尼諾事件的持續，2016年可能又將是一個極端炎熱的年份。
“If you were going to be betting, you would bet its going to be warmer than 2015,” said Mr Karl.
卡爾說：“如果要打賭的話，我賭今年比去年更熱。”
This raises the risk of heavy rains and flooding, scientists pointed out, because warmer temperatures would lead to more water vapour in the world’s atmosphere.
科學家指出，這增加了暴雨和洪水的危險，因爲氣溫升高會導致大氣層裏積聚更多水蒸氣。
Last year saw a series of disastrous floods hit countries worldwide, including the UK, which in December experienced its wettest month since records began in 1910.
去年一系列洪災襲擊了世界各國，英國也包括在內。去年12月英國經歷了1910年開始記錄以來雨水最多的月份。
The findings of the US and UK scientists are based on thousands of global temperature measurements taken daily on land and at sea.
美國和英國科學家基於數千份陸地和海洋的每日全球氣溫監測數據，得出上述發現。
