奥姆·卡尔正凝视着云朵在距离北德文海岸10英里的朗迪岛周围飞驰。"那一块肯定有雨,"他说。"此刻大陆会很潮湿。再看看威尔士——它现在正在遭受大雨。"但天空顽固地保持着蓝色。自五月份开始以来，这里几乎没有下过显著的雨水，导致水位危险地低落。已实施限制措施，游客数量受到限制，并且有人讨论过这个只有28人居住的岛屿是否应该被疏散。"
om Carr was peering up at the clouds scudding around the island of Lundy 10 miles off the coast of north Devon. "That one's definitely got rain in it," he said. "The mainland will be wet at the moment. And look over at Wales – it's getting a real soaking just now." But above the sky was, stubbornly, blue. No significant rain has fallen here since the start of May, leading to perilously low water levels. Restrictions have been put in place, visitor numbers limited and there has been talk of the island – home to 28 people – being evacuated.
这是个挑战,"卡尔说，他是一名负责照看羊、牛和小马的保护农民。他在这里已经超过20年，他认为气候紧急情况与花岗岩岩礁地形的结合是问题所在——这个岩礁从布里斯托尔海峡拔地而起。"气候变化已经到来，它正在发生。我们正经历更热、更干燥的夏天。而当雨云真的来临时，它们在靠近岛屿时往往会分散，使我们保持干燥。"
"It's been a challenge," said Carr, a conservation farmer who looks after sheep, cattle and ponies. He has been here more than 20 years and reckons the combination of the climate emergency and the topography of the granite outcrop, which soars out of the Bristol Channel, is the problem. "Climate change is here, it's happening. We're having hotter, drier summers. And when the rain clouds do come in, they tend to split as the approach the island and we stay dry."
这个长三英里的岛屿因其海鹦和海盗历史而闻名，依赖雨水和五个钻孔井。最大的雨水收集区位于南部。当有雨时，雨水会从这里倾泻而下，流向港口附近的收集罐。然后被抽送到靠近旧灯塔的一系列储水罐和净化厂。
The three-mile long island, famed for its puffins and its pirate past, relies on rainwater and five boreholes. The biggest rain catchment area is in the south. From there – when it does rain – water tumbles down to a collection tank near the harbour. It is then pumped up to an array of tanks and a purification plant near the old lighthouse.
岛屿管理员马特·斯坎特伯里说，就在两周前，水罐的容量仅为13%——只够维持岛屿大约一周的用水量。大量水正通过岛上的船只MS奥尔登堡号，以1000升的集装箱形式运送过来，以补充供应。
The island manager, Matt Scantlebury, said a fortnight ago the tanks were at 13% capacity – only enough water to keep the island going for about a week. Tonnes of water was being brought over in 1,000 litre containers on the island boat, the MS Oldenburg, to top up the supply.
露营地曾深受攀岩者欢迎——在悬崖筑巢的海鸟离开后——如今已关闭。岛上酒吧马里斯科酒厂的厕所被封闭。度假屋中的浴缸塞子被拿走——最多可容纳110人——并要求人们在冲厕所前三思而后行。
The campsite, which is popular with climbers once the cliff-nesting seabirds have gone, was shut. The toilets at the island pub, the Marisco Tavern, were closed. Bath plugs in holiday lets – up to 110 people can stay here – were taken away and people were asked to think twice before flushing toilets.
幸运的是，在水位降至最低的那天，岛上收到了确认信息：其淡水池之一——名为Pondsbury的池塘——的水质足够好，可以使用。
Happily, on the day the water reached its low point, the island received confirmation that the water in one of its freshwater pools – called Pondsbury – was of a good enough quality to be used.
自那时起，每天从该池塘取水约12,000升，水位已恢复至22.5%。但如今，池塘开始变干。“而且目前也没有预报有适当的降雨，”斯坎特尔伯里说。“我们知道我们必须找到方法，为未来做好准备。”为此，岛上已订购一个容量为300,000升的新水箱。有人提出建造海水淡化厂——毕竟岛上海水资源丰富——但斯坎特尔伯里表示，这将非常昂贵，而且可能需要比岛上目前能够产生的能源更多的能源。
About 12,000 litres of water has been taken from there every day since and the levels are back up to 22.5%. But now the pond is starting to run dry. "And still no proper rain is forecast," said Scantlebury. "We know we have to find ways of future proofing ourselves." To that end, a new 300,000-litre water tank has been ordered. The idea of a desalination plant – seawater is one thing the island is not short of – has been suggested but Scantlebury said it would be expensive and would probably need more energy than the island was capable of producing.
特里斯坦·豪斯，岛上的工程师，表示，寻找节约岛上有限水资源的方法至关重要。“一个滴水的水龙头会浪费掉很多水，”他说。“一根破裂的水管将是一场灾难。”
Tristan Howes, the island's engineer, said finding ways of conserving the little water Lundy had was crucial. "A dripping tap can lose a lot of water," he said. A broken pipe would be a disaster.
工作人员已经习惯不仅快速冲澡，还用桶接住使用的水，用来冲厕所。“我们要尽可能高效地使用水。”幸运的是，前往兰迪岛的游客——该岛由国家信托基金所有，由地标信托基金管理——往往是那种不介意一点艰苦条件的人。
Staff have got used not only to having a rapid shower but catching the water they use in a bucket and using it to flush the toilet. "It's about being as efficient as we can." Luckily, visitors to Lundy, which is owned by the National Trust and managed by the Landmark Trust, tend to be the sort who don't mind a little bit of hardship.
米歇尔·菲利普斯是一位热爱动物的人，特意来看岛上的小马，她和丈夫弗雷德·布利纳里亚一起进行了一日游，背包里装有1.6升水、四瓶Lucozade和一管补水片。“我觉得这应该能让我们撑过去，”她说。
Michelle Phillips, an animal lover keen to see the island's ponies, and her husband, Fred Bullinaria, arrived for a day trip with 1.6 litres of water, four Lucozades and a tube of hydration tablets in their backpacks. "I think that will keep us going," she said.
维克和埃德·克兰在兰迪岛住了几天，以庆祝他们的十周年结婚纪念日。他们购买了湿巾以限制用水量。“我们不介意艰苦一点，”维克说。“这就是兰迪岛的体验的一部分。这是一次冒险。”岛上的居民始终保持积极，总是寻找光明的一面。
Vick and Ed Crane were staying on Lundy for a few days to celebrate their 10th wedding anniversary. They had bought wet wipes to limit their water usage. "We don't mind roughing it," said Vick. "That's part of the Lundy experience. It's an adventure." The residents are positive, always looking for the bright side.
塔拉·麦克伊沃伊-怀尔丁，岛上助理狱警，表示一些生物在炎热的夏季中表现良好。"今年对蝴蝶和蛾子来说是个好年头。"
Tara McEvoy-Wilding, assistant warden on the island, said some creatures had done well from the hot summer. "It's been a good year for butterflies and moths."
这也对伦迪卷心菜是个好夏天，伦迪卷心菜是一种仅在该岛生长的原始十字花科植物。"它相当是一种先锋物种，喜欢干燥、裸露且植被稀少的土地，"麦克伊沃伊-怀尔丁说。"数百株微小的卷心菜植株已经开始在通常不会生长的地区扎根。因此，至少这是件好事。"
And it has also been a good summer for the Lundy cabbage, a primitive brassica that grows only on the island. "It's quite a pioneering species and likes dry bare ground where there isn't much vegetation," said McEvoy-Wilding. "Hundreds of tiny cabbage plants have started to establish in areas where they wouldn't normally. So that's positive, at least."
麦克伊沃伊-怀尔丁表示，居民们已经习惯于用更少的水。"你会更加注意——只洗短时间的澡，而且不一定总是冲马桶。某种程度上这不是件坏事。它让你思考，仅通过做出很小的改变，每天就能节省多少水。"但这并不意味着麦克伊沃伊-怀尔丁不在盼望雨水。"令人惊讶的是，我们竟然降雨如此之少。八月有一天下了一个小时的雨。
McEvoy-Wilding said residents had become accustomed to using less water. "You're more mindful – you only have a short shower and you don't always flush the toilet. In a way it's not a bad thing. It makes you think about how much water you could be saving every day by just making very small changes." But that doesn't mean that McEvoy-Wilding is not hoping for rain. "It's amazing how little rain we've had. We had one day in August when it rained for an hour.
雨势十分汹涌。我被淋湿了，但土地太干了，雨水直接从岛上流走了。""我有一块菜园，保持蔬菜存活变得很困难。南瓜长得远不如往常那么大。一些持续而适度的雨水将是完美的。"
Absolutely torrential. I was caught in it and got drenched but the ground was so dry it just poured off the island. "I've got an allotment and it's been hard to keep my vegetables alive. The pumpkins aren't anywhere near as big as normal. Some nice, steady rain would be perfect."