澳大利亚遭遇灾难性火灾 蔓延至悉尼郊区

连日大火肆虐，已使悉尼歌剧院笼罩在浓烟之中。澳大利亚政府部门10日发布预警，大悉尼地区面临最高级别的“灾难性”火灾风险。这是澳大利亚2009年实施新的火灾风险等级以来，大悉尼地区首次面临这一级别的风险预警。

Raging bushfires have razed properties in Australia and briefly spread to suburbs of Sydney, officials say.

澳大利亚当局表示，势无可挡的森林大火已经将一些房屋夷为平地，并迅速蔓延到悉尼郊区。

raze [reɪz]：vt.夷为平地；破坏；拆毁

Scores of fires are still burning in New South Wales amid temperatures of 35C and winds of 80km/h.

新南威尔士州仍有数十处大火在燃烧，气温达到35摄氏度，风速达到每小时80公里。

A feared southerly wind change has now occurred but the "catastrophic" day feared has largely been avoided.

风向确如人们担心的那样转为了南风，不过大家所惧怕的“灾难性”一天基本上得以避免。

No deaths were reported on Tuesday but fire chiefs warned that conditions meant the dangers facing the state were far from over.

本周二（11月12日）没有人员死亡报告，但消防官员警告称，目前的情况意味着该州面临的危险远未结束。

About six million people live in New South Wales (NSW) state.

大约有600万人居住在新南威尔士州。

消防工作最新进展

The number of fires still afflicting NSW ranged from 100 to 300 in Australian media reports.

据澳大利亚媒体报道，新南威尔士州目前仍有100至300起火灾。

Crews have been battling a front spanning 1,000km along the north coast of NSW, with several blazes "exceeding 100,000 hectares alone", officials have said.

消防人员一直在新南威尔士州北部绵延1000公里的前线作战，有关官员表示，几场大火“单是着火面积就超过10万公顷”。

Flame retardant had to be dropped in Sydney's northern suburbs as some bushfires approached within 15km of the city centre.

一些森林大火蔓延至距市中心15公里以内地区，消防人员不得不在悉尼北部郊区投放阻燃剂。

retardant [rɪ'tɑːd(ə)nt]：n. [化学]阻滞剂；抑止剂

Flames came within metres of engulfing the homes of Blake Haymen and Sean Murphy in the affluent suburb.

大火距离布莱克·海门和肖恩·墨菲家所在的郊区富人区只有几米远。

The residents were forced to use pool water to tackle a blaze that had spread from dense bushland across the road from their homes.

大火从居民家门前马路对面的茂密丛林蔓延开来，居民们被迫用游泳池的水灭火。

"We actually ran out of water pressure, so we had to go to the pool. Sean put out a spot-fire with one of these buckets," Mr Haymen told the Sydney Morning Herald.

海门告诉《悉尼先驱晨报》说：“实际情况是，我们的水压不够了，所以不得不用游泳池的水。肖恩用其中一个水桶接水扑灭了一处着火点。”

New South Wales Rural Fire Service firefighters are seen fighting fires on Long Gully Road in the northern New South Wales town of Drake, Australia, September 9, 2019. [Photo/Agencies]

Authorities said one firefighter had suffered a broken arm and suspected fractured ribs.

当地政府表示，一名消防员手臂骨折，肋骨可能也出现骨折。

Rural Fire Service Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons said: "We've really got a long way to go. You can guarantee we're not going to be able to get around all of these fires before the next wave of bad weather.

农业消防局局长谢恩·菲茨西蒙斯说：“我们还有很长的路要走。在下一轮恶劣天气来临之前，我们肯定无法扑灭所有这些火灾。”

"Unfortunately there's no meaningful reprieve. There's no rainfall in this change and we're going to continue to have warm dry conditions dominating in the days and weeks ahead."

“不幸的是，情况没有任何缓解的迹象。没有降雨，在未来几天至几周内，天气仍将炎热干燥。”

Commissioner Fitzsimmons said up to a dozen homes were believed to have been damaged or destroyed on Tuesday.

菲茨西蒙斯说，本周二（11月12日）有多达12座房屋被损坏或摧毁。

People in vulnerable NSW communities have been urged to stay away from bushland. More than 600 schools are closed across the state.

新南威尔士州受影响社区的人们被敦促远离丛林地带。全州有600多所学校停课。

Australia's conservative government has refused to be drawn on whether climate change could have contributed to the fires, in a response that has drawn criticism.

澳大利亚保守派政府拒绝透露气候变化是否可能导致了火灾，这一回应招致了批评。

Thomas Eveans holds melted aluminum as he inspects the remains of his house which was destroyed by a bushfire in Torrington, near Glen Innes, Australia, on Monday. Reuters

火灾有多严重？

Three people have died and more than 170 properties have been destroyed since the fire emergency intensified in NSW on Friday.

自上周五（11月8日）新南威尔士州的火灾紧急情况加剧以来，已有3人死亡，170多座房屋被毁。

Authorities had said they were facing what could be "the most dangerous bushfire week this nation has ever seen".

当地政府表示，他们面临的可能是“本国有史以来最危险的森林大火周”。

Mr Fitzsimmons said 3,000 firefighters were on the front lines, boosted by crews from other states and New Zealand, as well as the Australian Defence Force.

菲茨西蒙斯表示，前线有3000名消防员，还有来自其他州、新西兰以及澳大利亚国防军的支援。

Experts have compared the situation to the 2009 Black Saturday bushfires in Victoria, when 173 people died.

专家们称这一情况堪比2009年维多利亚州“黑色星期六”的森林大火，那次火灾造成173人死亡。

Police are investigating reports that a fire in North Rothbury, in the Hunter Region of NSW, and at least two others, may have been started deliberately.

有报告称，新南威尔士州猎人区北罗斯伯里的一场火灾以及至少另外两场火灾可能是蓄意纵火，警方正在对此进行调查。

Fire authorities say a million hectares of land have burned in NSW since the fire season began in September.

消防部门表示，自9月份火灾季节开始以来，新南威尔士州已有100万公顷土地遭遇火情。

Hoping to return home, Wytaliba resident Storm Sparks holds her son Zeke Bacon as she waits at a roadblock near Glen Innes in New South Wales, Australia, on Monday. [Photo/Agencies]

其他州情况如何？

To the north, Queensland has also declared a state of emergency as 55 bushfires rage in the state.

北部的昆士兰州也宣布进入紧急状态，该州有55起森林大火。

Though it was not facing such severe weather on Tuesday, officials warned conditions could deteriorate later in the week.

尽管本周二（11月12日）昆州没有遭遇如此恶劣的天气，但官员们警告称，本周晚些时候情况可能会恶化。

Fire crews in South Australia were tacking about a dozen blazes, while bushfires in Western Australia also sparked emergency warnings.

南澳大利亚州的消防人员正在扑灭十几起大火，而西澳大利亚州的森林大火也引发了紧急警报。

A jogger is seen in Blackwattle Bay as smoke haze drifts over the CBD in Sydney, Australia, on Oct 31, 2019. [Photo/Agencies]

与气候变化有关吗？

Scientists and experts warn that Australia's fire season has grown longer and more intense due to climate change.

科学家和专家警告说，由于气候变化，澳大利亚的火灾季节变得更长、更严重。

Officials have confirmed that 2018 and 2017 were Australia's third and fourth-hottest years on record respectively, and last year the nation experienced its warmest summer on record.

官员们已经证实，2018年和2017年分别是澳大利亚有记录以来第三和第四最热的年份，去年澳大利亚经历了有记录以来最热的夏天。

The Bureau of Meteorology's State of the Climate 2018 report said climate change had led to an increase in extreme heat events and raised the severity of other natural disasters, such as drought.

气象局发布的《2018年气候状况报告》称，气候变化导致极端高温事件增加，干旱等其他自然灾害的严重程度也随之提高。

Even if global temperatures are contained to a 2C rise above pre-industrial levels - a limit set out in the landmark Paris accord, agreed by 188 nations in 2017 - scientists believe the country is facing a dangerous new normal.

2017年，188个国家签署了具有里程碑意义的《巴黎协定》，规定与前工业化时期相比，全球气温升幅不得超过2摄氏度。即便如此，科学家们仍认为，澳大利亚正面临危险的新常态。

Last year, a UN report said Australia was falling short in efforts to cut its CO2 emissions.

去年，一份联合国报告称，澳大利亚在减少二氧化碳排放方面做得不够。