After the driest spring for 132 years, two regions of England – Yorkshire and the north-west – have entered drought status. Some reservoirs have shrunk to half their volume and without substantial rain other regions could also enter drought status. But it’s not just lack of rain that is the problem. A new study shows that a thirstier atmosphere is making droughts more severe and widespread around the globe.
在最干燥的春天132年之后，英格兰两个地区 - 约克郡和西北地区都进入了干旱地位。一些水库的数量缩小到一半的数量，而没有大量降雨也可能会进入干旱状态。但是，问题不仅是缺少雨水。一项新的研究表明，一种更古怪的气氛使干旱更加严重，并且在全球范围内广泛。
Researchers used climate data including temperatures, wind speeds, humidity and solar radiation to develop an “atmospheric evaporative demand” index – essentially a measure of how thirsty the atmosphere is. From data going back to 1901, their findings, published in Nature, show that the atmosphere has become thirstier over time. This rising thirst has increased the area of land vulnerable to drought and is responsible for about 40% of the increase in drought severity over the last four decades.
研究人员使用气候数据在内，包括温度，风速，湿度和太阳辐射来开发“大气蒸发需求”指数 - 实质上是对大气的渴求。从数据可以追溯到1901年，他们在自然界中发表的发现表明，随着时间的流逝，气氛变得更加着迷。这种渴求的渴望增加了易受干旱的土地面积，并造成了过去四十年中干旱严重程度增加的40％。
A thirstier atmosphere means that even in places where rainfall hasn’t changed much, there are still worsening droughts. The researchers argue that atmospheric thirst needs to be factored in to our preparations for drought. Storing and conserving water won’t be enough and we also need strategies to reduce evaporative loss, such as planting drought-resistant crops, improving soil health, restoring habitats to retain moisture, and more efficient irrigation systems.
更渴的气氛意味着即使在降雨不大的地方，干旱仍然恶化。研究人员认为，大气口渴需要纳入我们的干旱准备工作中。储存和保护水还不够，我们还需要策略来减少蒸发性损失，例如种植抗旱作物，改善土壤健康，恢复栖息地以保留水分以及更有效的灌溉系统。
