紐時賞析／北極迅速變暖 往昔降雪處改下雨

In a Rapidly Warming Arctic, Rain Where It Used to Snow

北極迅速變暖 往昔降雪處改下雨

As humans warm the planet, the once reliably frigid and frozen Arctic is becoming wetter and stormier, with shifts in its climate and seasons that are forcing local communities, wildlife and ecosystems to adapt, scientists said Tuesday in an annual assessment of the region.

科學家們周二在對北極地區的年度評估中表示，隨著人類使地球變暖，昔日非常寒冷和冰凍的北極正在變得更潮濕且多風雨，氣候與季節的變化正迫使當地社區、野生動物和生態系統進行調適。

Even though 2022 was only the Arctic’s sixth warmest year on record, researchers saw plenty of new signs this year of how the region is changing.

儘管2022年只是北極有紀錄以來第六溫暖的年份，但研究人員今年看到該地區正發生改變的許多新跡象。

A September heat wave in Greenland, for instance, caused the most severe melting of the island’s ice sheet for that time of the year in over four decades of continuous satellite monitoring. In 2021, an August heat wave had caused it to rain at the ice sheet’s summit for the first time.

例如，格陵蘭島9月熱浪導致島上冰蓋融化的嚴重程度，創衛星連續監測40多年來的同期之最。2021年8月的熱浪首度導致冰蓋頂部下雨。

“Insights about the circumpolar region are relevant to the conversation about our warming planet now more than ever,” said Richard Spinrad, administrator of the United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. “We’re seeing the impacts of climate change happen first in polar regions.”

美國國家海洋暨大氣總署署長史賓拉德說：「對極地地區的深入了解，跟我們關於地球暖化的討論比以往任何時候都更相關。我們看到氣候變遷的影響最先發生在極地地區。」

Temperatures in the Arctic Circle have been rising much more quickly than those in the rest of the planet, transforming the region’s climate into one defined less by sea ice, snow and permafrost and more by open water, rain and green landscapes.

北極圈氣溫上升速度一直比地球其他地區快上許多，這造成該地區的氣候不再由海冰、積雪和永凍土決定，而取決於開放水域、雨水與綠色景觀。

Nearly 150 experts from 11 nations compiled this year’s assessment of Arctic conditions, the Arctic Report Card, which NOAA has produced since 2006. This year’s report card was issued Tuesday.

來自11國近150名專家編纂今年的北極狀況評估報告，也就是美國國家海洋暨大氣總署2006年以來發布的《北極年度報告》。今年的報告在周二發布。

Between October 2021 and September, air temperatures above Arctic lands were the sixth warmest since 1900, the report card said, noting that the seven warmest years have been the last seven. Rising temperatures have helped plants, shrubs and grasses grow in parts of the Arctic tundra, and 2022 saw levels of green vegetation that were the fourth highest since 2000, particularly in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, northern Quebec and central Siberia.

報告中表示，北極在2021年10月到今年9月間的氣溫為1900年來第六高，並指最近7年是氣溫前七高的年份。氣溫上升有助於部分北極苔原地區植物、灌木及草的生長，2022年綠色植被水準創2000年以來第四高，尤其是在加拿大北極群島、魁北克北部及西伯利亞中部。

Indicators of sea ice rebounded this year after near-record-lows in 2021, but they were still below long-term averages, the assessment found. March is typically when the ice is at its greatest extent each year, September its lowest. At both points this year, ice levels were among the lowest since satellites have been making reliable measurements.

評估發現，2021年接近歷史低點後，海冰指標今年有所反彈，但仍低於長期平均水準。每年3月通常是海冰面積最大的時候，9月時則最小。在今年這兩個時間點，海冰冰層均是自衛星進行可靠測量以來最低。

文／Raymond Zhong　譯／陳韋廷