阿迪蒂·拉马克里希南 纽约 —— 专家表示，一种混乱的气候现象正在加剧美国西南部的暴雨和洪水。
ADITHI RAMAKRISHNAN NEW YORK — A chaotic climate phenomenon is intensifying heavy rains and floods in the Southwest, experts say.
一种被称为厄尔尼诺的自然变暖周期正在使太平洋海水升温，向空气中释放水汽，为经过的风暴提供燃料。这种厄尔尼诺事件每隔几年就会不规律地发生一次，但科学家表示，最新一轮事件尤为极端。
A natural warming cycle called El Niño is sizzling Pacific Ocean waters, leaking moisture into the air that can fuel passing storms. Such El Niño events can happen irregularly every couple of years, but scientists say the latest iteration is particularly extreme.
耶鲁气候联络组织的气象学家杰夫·马斯特斯说：“我们过去曾出现过超强厄尔尼诺，但这是一个‘超级加强版’厄尔尼诺。”
“We’ve had super El Niños in the past, but this is a super duper El Niño,” said meteorologist Jeff Masters of Yale Climate Connections.
科学家表示，这种现象并非导致严重风暴的唯一原因，但它使得美国南部地区出现暴雨的可能性更大、强度更强。
The phenomenon wasn’t the only cause of the severe storms, but scientists say it’s making heavy rains more likely and intense across the Southern U.S.
周日的山洪暴发导致新墨西哥州北部和亚利桑那州中部大规模疏散，科罗拉多州的一个滑雪小镇正为其主要河流水位上升至灾难性水平做准备。就在上周，另一场多雨风暴让西南部各州经历了数天的洪水侵袭。
Flash floods on Sunday prompted evacuations across northern New Mexico and central Arizona, and a Colorado ski town braced for its main river to rise to catastrophic levels. And just last week, another wet storm subjected southwestern states to days of flooding.
据美国国家海洋和大气管理局前首席科学家瑞安·莫计算，在过去两周里，落在“四角地区”各州和内华达州的雨水已超过20万亿加仑。
Over 20 trillion gallons of water have fallen on the Four Corners states and Nevada in the past two weeks, according to calculations by former National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration chief scientist Ryan Maue.
专家表示，今年的极端厄尔尼诺正向空气中增加更多水汽，并将大气风向推向西南部，创造了更有利于风暴形成的条件。
Experts say this year’s extreme El Niño is adding more moisture to the air and shifting atmospheric winds toward the Southwest, creating more ideal conditions for storms.
加州大学农业与自然资源学院的气候科学家丹尼尔·斯温说：“每到这个季节，西南部内陆出现大降水的可能性确实会上升，但我们看到的程度是此前从未见过的。”
“The likelihood of big precipitation in the Southwest interior does go up this time of year, but we’re seeing it to a degree we actually haven’t seen before,” said climate scientist Daniel Swain with the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources.
由于人为导致的气候变化，全球海洋早已随时间推移而变暖，而厄尔尼诺让情况变得更热。
The world’s oceans have already warmed over time because of human-caused climate change, and the El Niño heats things up even more.
亚利桑那州立大学气象学家兰迪·塞尔维尼说：“海洋温度已经比比如说100年前更高了，这一事实使得这些厄尔尼诺局势变得更加剧烈。”
“The fact that the ocean temperatures are already warmer than they were, say, 100 years ago, makes these El Niño situations even more intense,” said meteorologist Randy Cerveny with Arizona State University.
该现象正在改变全球的天气模式：包括秘鲁和厄瓜多尔在内的地区也出现了创纪录的洪水，斯温说。厄尔尼诺现象预计将在十二月达到峰值，专家称其冲击可能在此后持续数月。
The phenomenon is changing weather patterns around the world: regions including Peru and Ecuador are also seeing record-breaking flooding, Swain said. The El Niño event is expected to peak in December, and experts say its onslaught could continue for months afterward.
为确保安全，专家建议关注天气预报、提前做好规划并听从当地当局的撤离警告。
To stay safe, experts recommended watching the forecast, planning ahead and heeding evacuation warnings from local authorities.
“我们尚未进入太平洋海面加热的高峰期。所以，是的，我们将会看到更多此类事件，”塞尔维尼说。
“We’re not at the peak of the heating in the Pacific Ocean. So yes, we will see more of these particular events,” Cerveny said. The AP’s climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. The