这7大美景，因为气候变化，我们很快再也见不到了！ Global Warming

气候变化是国际社会致力解决的全球性问题之一。本次推送的主题可不仅是旅游，更与气候变化相关。读完本文，大家一定会对气候变化有更加深刻的认识！
01
Patagonia, Argentina
阿根廷，巴塔哥尼亚
A land of untouched beauty, South America's Patagonia could be dramatically altered by climate change. Many of its 50 glaciers are steadfastly retreating (and have been for 50 years) because of rising temperatures and declining precipitation, which spells bad news for humans and animals as the Southern Patagonian Icefield is the third-largest reservoir of fresh water in the world.

南美洲的巴塔哥尼亚高原始终保持着大自然的原始面貌，但其景观却极易受到气候变化的影响。由于气温升高和降水减少，这里的50座冰川每年正在以固定的速度消融（已达50年之久）。这对于人类和动物来说可不是一个好消息，因为巴塔哥尼亚南部冰原是世界第三大淡水水源。

02
Great Barrier Reef 大堡礁
In 2016, Outside Magazine ran an obituary for the Great Barrier Reef, declaring it dead at 25 million years old. But scientists (and social media) were quick to point out the gorgeous natural wonder is not actually dead. Rising ocean temperatures, water pollution, ocean acidification and cyclones continually pummel the reef and have caused mass coral bleaching. So it's in trouble, yes, but definitely still alive.

《户外》杂志在2016年为大堡礁撰写了一份“讣告”，称大堡礁将在形成以来的2500万年后死去。但是科学家（和媒体）很快便指出，这一自然奇观实际上并没有死去。海洋温度上升、海水污染、海洋酸化和旋风不断地影响着大堡礁，造成大量的白化珊瑚。所以说大堡礁确实遇到了麻烦，但毫无疑问还活着。

The 133,000-square-mile reef system has recently become a "last chance" tourist destination, where visitors travel there to see it before it's gone. What took 8,000 years for nature to create could disappear within our lifetimes. Much like the Sahara in Africa, desertification threatens South Australia. Australia is one of the twelve most biologically diverse nations in the world, and it's also one of the driest continents. Across the region, fresh water supplies are rapidly drying up. Meanwhile, the parched landscape increases the occurrence of wildfires, threatening agriculture, wildlife and hundreds of Australian homes.

对于很多游客来说，这片面积为13.3万平方英里的珊瑚礁群，已经变成了他们的最后一次大堡礁之旅，很多游客都要赶在大堡礁消失之前去领略它的风采。一件大自然耗时8000年造就的杰作，竟将在我们的有生之年消失殆尽。与非洲的撒哈拉沙漠一样，沙漠化正威胁着澳大利亚南部的土地。澳大利亚是世界上物种最为丰富的12个国家之一，它也是最干旱的大陆之一，整个澳洲的淡水水源正在加速枯竭。同时，这片陆地上炎热的气候环境使火灾发生日益频繁，对农业、野生动物和房屋构成了威胁。

03
The Alps 阿尔卑斯山脉
The European Alps sit at a lower altitude than the Rocky Mountains, and their glaciers and ski resorts are more susceptible to the effects of global warming. The famed glaciers are predicted to disappear by 2050; on average, about three percent of the ice is lost each year. The loss, according to National Geographic, would "change the supply of drinking and irrigation water, lead to more falling rocks, and cripple the European ski industry."

欧洲的阿尔卑斯山脉比落基山脉海拔低，这里的冰川和滑雪度假地更容易受到全球气候变暖的影响。据预测，阿尔卑斯山脉上负有盛名的几大冰川将会在2050年之前消失；平均每年都会有3%的冰川融化。《国家地理》杂志称，冰川的消失会“改变饮用水与灌溉水水源，导致落石增加，阻碍欧洲滑雪产业的进步”。

04
Alaskan tundra 阿拉斯加苔原
Global warming heats up the Arctic twice as fast as the rest of the world, meaning Alaska's beautiful northern tundra could vanish completely if temperatures continue to rise. As the tundra's permafrost melts, it not only drastically alters the ecosystem but also releases additional carbon — ironically hastening global warming.

北极地区在全球变暖过程中温度上升的速度是其他地区的两倍，如果气温继续上升，阿拉斯加北部的美丽苔原就会消失。苔原上永久冻土的融化会对当地生态系统造成极大影响，同时还会增加碳排放——进一步加剧全球变暖。

Newsweek describes the problem: "In great swaths of land across much of Alaska's vast central and northern interior, the past decade of too-warm winters has unlocked organic material that's been trapped in icy ground for some 30,000 years. That ground is made of permafrost: many yards of mammoth bones, grasses, soil and other detritus frozen when this land was steppe tundra, ice-cold all year round. Now that permafrost is thawing. The land, losing its ice content, is receding."

《新闻周刊》这样描述阿拉斯加苔原面临的问题：“在阿拉斯加广阔的中北部地区，过去十年间过于温暖的冬天已经‘解锁’了原本已经冻在地下约3万年的有机物。这片陆地上原本只有永久冻土，气候终年冰冷：几米长的猛犸象骨、草类、土壤和一些碎石在冻土融化之前长期封冻于地下。而现在，永久冻土正在融化。没有了冰雪，这里的面积正在缩小。”

05
Venice, Italy 意大利，威尼斯
In the last century, the frequency of flood has increased from fewer than 10 times a year to more than 60 times a year, leaving many to wonder how much longer Venice can stay above water.

上世纪，威尼斯的洪水发生次数由每年的不足10次上升至60多次，很多人都在思考威尼斯城还能在水面之上存在多久。

Rising sea water isn't the only problem Venice faces. In the 20th century, excessive groundwater pumping led the city to "sink" about 2 millimeters a year, though that number has slowed to about 0.08 inches each year, according to a 2012 report.

上升的海平面不仅仅是威尼斯面临的唯一难题。在20世纪，过量抽取地下水的行为使这座城市每年“下降”两毫米，不过2012年的一项报告显示，威尼斯“下降”的速度有所缓解，约为每年0.08英寸。

06
Maldives 马尔代夫
The Republic of Maldives in the Indian Ocean is the lowest-lying country in the world, with a maximum natural ground level of 2.3 meters, and an average of only 1.5 meters above sea level. The nation of 1,190 islands is expected to experience a sea level rise of 1.5 feet — and lose 77 percent of its land — by the year 2100. If sea levels were to rise by three feet, the country and its white sand beaches could very well be covered by the ocean by the end of this century, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists.

位于印度洋的马尔代夫共和国是世界上海拔最低的国家，自然地理海拔最高为2.3米，平均海拔仅有1.5米。预计在2100年，这个由1190座岛屿构成的国家将会面临海平面上升1.5 英尺（约0.5米）的威胁——即失去77%的国土。相关科学家联合称，如果海平面上升3英尺（约1米），整个马尔代夫和它的白色海滩在本世纪末便会被海水彻底淹没。

07
Saharan Africa 非洲撒哈拉地区
The Sahara is the largest non-polar desert in the world, covering 3.6 million square miles or about 8 percent of the world's land area. The continental United States could easily fit inside it. And the desert is growing by about half a mile a month, according to some estimates. At that rate, this desertification could consume all of Northern Africa, altering the environment of a continent.

撒哈拉沙漠是世界上最大的非极地地区沙漠，面积为36万平方英里，占世界陆地面积的8%，比美国的陆地面积还要大。据估计，这里的沙漠正在以每月半英里的速度扩张。以这样的速度，沙漠化将会吞噬整个北非，改变非洲大陆的环境。

说说看：由于气候变化，如此美丽的景观正在消失，对此你有什么感想呢？