“灾难性”的野火继续在澳大利亚肆虐

“灾难性”的野火继续在澳大利亚肆虐

A large portion of Australia is on fire after weeks of extreme heat, strong winds and drought that have created ideal conditions for hundreds of bushfires to thrive across the country. Several fires have been burning since November, particularly in the eastern state of New South Wales.

经过数周的高温、强风和干旱，澳大利亚大部分地区都着火了，这为全国各地数百处丛林大火的蔓延创造了理想条件。自11月以来，已经发生了几起火灾，特别是在东部的新南威尔士州。

The fires threaten many of Australia's largest population centers, including Sydney, a city of more than 5 million, which has been cloaked in smoke. Blazes have destroyed hundreds of homes and almost 3 million acres of bushland, threatening the habitat of countless wildlife, including already endangered koalas.

大火威胁着澳大利亚许多最大的人口中心，包括拥有500多万人口的悉尼，这座城市一直笼罩在烟雾中。大火摧毁了数百座房屋和近300万英亩的丛林，威胁着无数野生动物的栖息地，包括已经濒临灭绝的考拉。

The fires come after years of drought in parts of the country and record-breaking heat. Earlier this week, Australia had its hottest day on record — only to break that record the following day. And fire season has just begun, leaving many bracing for worse.

火灾发生前，该国部分地区经历了多年的干旱和创纪录的高温。本周早些时候，澳大利亚经历了有记录以来最热的一天，但第二天就打破了记录。火灾季节才刚刚开始，许多人还在为更糟糕的情况做准备。

Thousands of firefighters, many of whom are volunteers, are currently deployed. Several have been injured, and two died earlier this week when a fallen tree limb overturned their vehicle. Their deaths prompted Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison to return early from a family vacation to Hawaii.

成千上万的消防员，其中许多是志愿者，目前已经被部署。本周早些时候，一根倒下的树枝掀翻了他们的车，造成数人受伤，两人死亡。他们的死亡促使澳大利亚总理斯科特·莫里森提前结束了与家人一起去夏威夷的假期，提前回国。

"I deeply regret any offence caused to any of the many Australians affected by the terrible bushfires by my taking leave with family at this time," Morrison said in a statement released Friday. Morrison was scrutinized for his unwillingness to link Australia's greenhouse gas emissions to extreme fire conditions last month.

莫里森在周五发表的一份声明中说:“我对自己在这个时候和家人一起离开，给许多受森林大火影响的澳大利亚人造成的伤害深感遗憾。”莫里森曾因不愿将澳大利亚的温室气体排放与上月的极端火灾状况联系起来而受到审查。

The prime minister's return coincides with a new state of emergency issued for New South Wales, the country's most populous state, as "catastrophic" fire conditions were listed for the region, the highest fire danger rating possible in the country. Andrea Peace, a meteorologist for Australia's Bureau of Meteorology, said that Saturday could be the worst day for the area, as a front moves in from the south.

总理的回归恰逢新南威尔士州发布新的紧急状态，该州是全国人口最多的州，该地区被列为“灾难性”火灾状态，是全国最高的火灾危险等级。澳大利亚气象局的气象学家安德里亚皮斯说，随着一个锋从南部移动过来，周六可能是该地区最糟糕的一天。

"What it's going to do is bring quite a strong, gusty southerly wind ... (which) creates a really dangerous period for the fire grounds because it rapidly changes the directions of the fires there," Peace said.

“它会带来一股强劲的南风……这为火灾发生创造了一个非常危险的时期，因为它迅速改变了火灾的方向。”

She said there could be gusts of up to 100 kilometers per hour, or about 62 miles per hour.

她说，阵风可能高达每小时100公里，或大约每小时62英里。

Julia Holman, a reporter for Australian Broadcasting Corporation in Sydney, told NPR's David Greene earlier this week that the fires are already overwhelming the area.

澳大利亚广播公司驻悉尼记者茱莉亚·霍尔曼本周早些时候告诉NPR新闻的大卫·格林，火灾已经席卷了该地区。

"New South Wales is an enormous state. It's bigger than the size of Texas. And the fires literally go from the top of the state right down to the bottom," Holman said.

“新南威尔士州是个大州。它比德克萨斯州的面积还大。火灾从州的顶部一直蔓延到底部，”霍尔曼说。

She said fires are very common in Australia, but not like this. "The problem is that it's so dry that we cannot put out these fires. And that's what's different this time around," she said.

她说火灾在澳大利亚很常见，但不是像这样。“问题是(空气)太干了，我们无法扑灭这些大火。这就是这次的不同之处。”

"These fires are also in very dense bushland. They cannot be put out by human effort," Holman continued. "We're waiting for rain. But we're in the midst of the worst drought on record here in New South Wales. So there is no possible way that these fires can be put out no matter the enormous human effort that is going into it."

“这些火灾也发生在非常密集的丛林地带。它们无法通过人类的努力消除，”霍尔曼继续说道。“我们在等雨。但在新南威尔士州，我们正处于有记录以来最严重的干旱之中。因此，无论人类付出多大的努力，都不可能扑灭这些大火。”