Deadly floods that have upended life in both China and Germany have sent a stark reminder that climate change is making weather more extreme across the globe.
At least 56 people in the central Chinese province of Henan died on Tuesday last week, including a dozen trapped in a city subway as waters tore through the regional capital of Zhengzhou after days of torrential rain.
Coming after floods killed at least 180 people in Germany and another 31 in Belgium two weeks ago, the disaster has reinforced the message that significant changes will have to be made to prepare for similar events in future.
Photo: EPA-EFE 照片:歐新社
“Governments should first realize that the infrastructure they have built in the past or even recent ones are vulnerable to these extreme weather events,” said Eduardo Araral, associate professor and co-director, Institute of Water Policy, at Singapore’s Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy.
In Europe, climate change is likely to increase the number of large, slow-moving storms that can linger longer in one area and deliver deluges of the kind seen in Germany and Belgium, according to a study published on June 30 in the journal Geophysical Research Letters entitled “Quasi-Stationary Intense Rainstorms Spread Across Europe Under Climate Change.”
As the atmosphere warms with climate change, it also holds more moisture, which means that when rainclouds break, more rain is released. By the end of the century, such storms could be 14 times more frequent, the researchers found in the study using computer simulations.
(Reuters)
在中國和德國造成死亡、讓人流離失所的洪水,透露出赤裸裸的訊息,提醒人們氣候變化正讓全球的天氣變得更加極端。
中國中部的河南省在連續幾天的暴雨後,上週二大水沖過首府鄭州,造成至少五十六人死亡,其中十多人是被困在鄭州市地鐵中無法逃生。
洪水兩週前才在德國造成至少一百八十人死亡,在比利時造成三十一人死亡,鄭州的這場災難強化了一個訊息──必須做出重大改變,才能夠為以後的類似情況做好準備。
新加坡李光耀公共政策學院水資源政策研究所副教授兼聯席主任艾德表示:「政府應首先了解,他們過去甚至最近所建造的基礎設施,很容易受這些極端天氣事件衝擊」。
根據六月三十日發表在期刊《地球物理研究通訊》的一項研究──「氣候變化下席捲歐洲之準穩態激烈暴雨」,在歐洲,氣候變化可能會讓大型、緩慢移動之風暴的數量增加,這種風暴能在一個地方停留更長的時間,並帶來德國和比利時所見的那種暴雨及洪水。
由於氣候變化,大氣變暖,而含納了更多水分,這表示當雨雲破裂降雨時,會釋放出更多的雨水。研究人員以電腦模擬所做出的研究發現,到了本世紀末,此類風暴的發生頻率可能會增加十四倍。
(台北時報林俐凱編譯)
A: Finally! Cantopop superstar Andy Lau is touring Taipei starting tonight. B: Yeah, he is set to perform at the Taipei Arena for four nights. A: It seems like he is still energetic on stage even at the age of 63. B: Lau, Jacky Cheung, Leon Lai and Arron Kwok are dubbed Hong Kong’s “Four Heavenly Kings.” A: Hopefully, the four “kings” can visit Taiwan more often. A: 終於啊!香港天王劉德華今晚起將在台北開唱。 B: 他預計在台北小巨蛋,一連熱唱4天! A: 看來劉天王雖然63歲了,在舞台上還是一尾活龍。 B: 他和張學友、黎明、郭富城還被稱為香港「四大天王」。 A: 希望天王們以後能更常來台灣。 (By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times/台北時報張聖恩)
A: Originally, supergroup Mayday was also going to launch four charity concerts starting today. B: I know, they were trying to boost Hualien’s tourism industry. A: And all 14 artists from B’in Music were going to join the free concerts. B: But they just announced all shows will be postponed due to Typhoon Kong-Rey. A: Well, safety first. A: 原本今天起,天團五月天的公益演唱會也將開跑。 B: 我知道,主要是為了振興花蓮的觀光業。 A: 「相信音樂」旗下14組歌手,聽說這次都會共襄盛舉。 B: 結果主辦單位宣布所有演出因颱風康芮延期。 A: 嗯安全至上吧。 (By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times/台北時報張聖恩)
For people with hearing loss, clear communication can seem like a distant dream. However, advancements in technology are __1__ this barrier. TranscribeGlass, a wearable device, can translate spoken words into text displayed on a transparent screen directly in the user’s field of vision. This innovation enables people with hearing disabilities to fully engage in conversations. Assistive technology like captioning is an important means of communication for people with hearing loss. Captioning software on cellphones can be a helpful option, but it has limitations. Many users often find themselves __2__ to constantly glance down at the phone screen, which disrupts eye contact
Floods that killed more than 200 people in eastern Spain last week were caused by a storm that dumped a year’s worth of rainfall in less than 24 hours. The tragedy has raised questions about whether earlier warnings could have prevented so many deaths, while the widespread damage shows how many cities are not adapted to withstand rainfall amplified by climate change. An extremely hot Mediterranean and warmer air temperatures exacerbated a type of storm system becoming more common in the Iberian peninsula due to global warming. Experts said that a building boom in the region in recent decades might have put