史上最冷的冬天就要来了 准备好被冻成狗了吗

The long awaited La Niña, which was first predicted by the Climate Prediction Center (CPC) back in April, has finally arrived in the Pacific Ocean, NOAA announced Thursday -- and it's expected to stick around through the winter.

星期四，美国国家海洋和大气管理局（NOAA）宣布：等待许久的拉尼娜终于抵达太平洋了。早在今年4月，美国国家气候预测中心（CPC）就首次预言了拉尼娜的到来。据估计，它将在整个冬天逗留于此。

La Niña conditions, which are characterized by below-normal sea surface temperatures in the tropical Pacific, were observed during October and have persisted into November -- prompting the CPC to raise the ENSO Alert System from a La Niña Watch to a La Niña Advisory.

拉尼娜现象的典型特征是热带太平洋海平面温度会低于常值，据观测，今年整个10月份都有这种现象，后来拖拖拉拉进入11月也没有消失——因此，CPC将将厄尔尼诺南方涛动警报系统（ENSO Alert System）里的拉尼娜警戒级别从“监视”提升到了“警报”级。

La Niña, much like its warmer counterpart, El Niño, have far reaching global impacts extending beyond the Pacific Ocean.

与拉尼娜相对应的是能让全球变暖的厄尔尼诺，这两种气候现象都已超越太平洋领域在全球范围内造成深远影响。

For the United States, NOAA forecasters say the current La Niña will "likely contribute to drier and warmer weather in the southern US and wetter, cooler conditions in the Pacific Northwest and across to the northern tier of the nation this winter." La Niña "is likely to contribute to persisting or developing drought across much of the southern U.S. this winter," said Mike Halpert, deputy director of the Climate Prediction Center.

就美国而言，NOAA预测专家说当前的拉尼娜现象“很可能会让美国南部今年冬天更为干旱、温暖，却使得西北部太平洋地带和北部地区更为潮湿、阴冷。”CPC副主任麦克•哈尔佩特说：“今年冬天，拉尼娜很可能会让美国南部持续干旱，或者加重那里的旱情。”

Fortunately, the current La Niña is weak and is expected to stay that way through the winter. This should keep the impact from being as severe as what was seen globally with 2015's record-setting El Niño, which saw deadly drought in Asia and helped make it the hottest year on record.

幸运的是，目前的阿尼娜现象较弱，而且据预测整个冬天都会保持这种态势，这样应该就不像2015年破纪录的厄尔尼诺那样造成严重后果：导致亚洲受到旱灾的致命重创，并让那2015成为有史以来最热的一年。

La Niña generally tends to lower global temperatures as it cools the surface of the tropical Pacific Ocean. It will be interesting to see if this La Niña can slow down the rapidly rising global temperatures and prevent 2016 from outpacing 2015 and becoming the third consecutive hottest year for the planet.

拉尼娜一般会让全球气温变冷，因为它会使热带太平洋表面水温下降。有意思的是，此次拉尼娜现象或许能够减缓正在快速上升的全球气温，并防止2016年气温高于2015年，接过前两年的接力棒，成为第三个最热年份。