孟买：政府周六（9月26日）表示，印度最富裕的马哈拉施特拉邦四分之三地区遭遇干旱，此前该地区长期降雨稀少，该地区拥有特大城市孟买。
MUMBAI: Drought has hit three-quarters of India's richest state of Maharashtra, the government said on Saturday (Sep 26), after prolonged low rainfall in the region home to the megacity of Mumbai.
马哈拉施特拉邦宣布干旱之际，国家气象部门预测印度将以降雨不足结束本年度雨季，威胁农民生计。
The declaration in Maharashtra came after the national weather department forecast India would end its annual monsoon season with a rainfall deficit, threatening farmers' livelihoods.
气象部门表示，比往常更强的厄尔尼诺气候现象（通常给南亚带来更干燥的条件）也导致了异常的降雨模式。马哈拉施特拉邦政府表示，该邦74%的领土处于干旱状态。该邦是一个巨大的西部邦，首府孟买是印度的金融和商业中心。
stronger-than-usual El Nino climate phenomenon, which typically brings drier conditions to South Asia, has also led to abnormal rain patterns, the weather department has said. The government of Maharashtra, a huge western state whose capital Mumbai is India's financial and commercial centre, said drought was present across 74 per cent of the territory.
首席部长德文德拉·法德纳维斯表示，政府在危机期间‘坚定地站在我们的农民兄弟身后’。
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said the administration stood "firmly behind our farmer brethren" during the crisis.
他的办公室表示，政府将评估农作物损失，并‘确保农民、农场工人和农村家庭及时获得必要的援助’。
The government will assess crop damage and "ensure that farmers, farm labourers and rural families receive the necessary assistance in a timely manner", his office said.
印度数亿人依赖6月至9月的季风带来至关重要的降雨，以维持农业和工业。
Hundreds of millions of people in India depend on the June-to-September monsoon to bring vital rains that sustain agriculture and industry.
马哈拉施特拉邦人口1.3亿，是一个主要农业邦，生产棉花、大豆、甘蔗和豆类。
Maharashtra has a population of 130 million and is a major agricultural state that produces cotton, soybeans, sugarcane and pulses.
许多农民依靠雨水灌溉，极易受到农作物歉收的影响，这可能将整个家庭推入财务危机。
Many farmers depend on rain for irrigation and are highly vulnerable to crop failures, which can push whole families into financial crisis.
低降雨的影响也波及印度南部，卡纳塔克邦也宣布向受旱地区农民提供援助。
The impact of low rainfall is also being felt in southern India, where Karnataka state has also announced aid for farmers in drought-hit areas.
厄尔尼诺是一种自然发生的气候模式，与太平洋海水温度升高有关，可改变全球风和降雨模式。
El Nino is a naturally occurring climate pattern associated with warmer ocean temperatures in the Pacific that can change wind and rainfall patterns around the world.
科学家表示，人为导致的气候变化可通过提供更多能量和水汽来助长极端天气，从而放大其影响。
Scientists say human-caused climate change can amplify its effects by making more energy and moisture available to fuel extreme weather.