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Scientists have discovered a new link between a pattern of fluctuations in jet stream air currents and crippling heatwaves that strike in multiple regions of the world at the same time.
科学家发现喷流的波动模式和同时袭击世界上多个地区的严重热浪之间的新联系。
Rossby waves are an atmospheric and oceanic phenomenon where giant meanders warp the flow of currents in a wave-like pattern. They don't only occur on Earth, but when they do, they're known to influence our planet's weather.
罗斯贝波是一种大气和海洋现象，巨大的蜿蜒曲折会使气流呈波浪状弯曲。它们不仅会发生在地球上，而且已知出现的时候会影响地球的天气。
Now, the extent of that influence is becoming clearer. In a new study, researchers have found that when certain amplified wavelengths take shape in jet streams – fast-flowing air currents that course through the sky at high altitudes – the phenomenon is linked to the emergence of concurrent heatwaves that devastate food-producing regions.
现在，这种影响的程度越来越明显。在一项新的研究中，研究员发现，当特定的放大波长在喷流--高海拔时经过天空的快速流动的气流--中成形时，这种现象与同时出现的破坏食品生产地区的热浪有关。
"We found a 20-fold increase in the risk of simultaneous heatwaves in major crop-producing regions when these global-scale wind patterns are in place," says Earth systems researcher Kai Kornhuber from Columbia University.
“我们发现，这些全球规模的风型出现时，主要粮食生产地同时出现热浪的风险增加了20倍。”哥伦比亚大学的地球系统研究员凯·科恩哈伯（Kai Kornhuber）说道。
Kornhuber and his team analysed climate data from 1979 to 2018 and found that when two particular wavelengths of circumglobal Rossby waves – called wave–5 and wave–7 – occurred in the Northern Hemisphere jet stream, they channel hot subtropical air into regions in North America, Europe, and Asia.
科恩哈伯和他的团队分析了1979年至2018年的气候数据，发现当环地罗斯贝波的两股特定波长波-5和波-7出现在北半球的喷流中时，会将亚热带热空气引入北美、欧洲和亚洲地区。
The hot air produces temperature spikes that can persist for weeks: extreme weather events that kill people, and threaten global food security through the widespread impact they have on crops.
热空气会产生持续数周的温度峰值。极端天气会致人死亡，并通过对庄稼造成影响而威胁全球食品安全。
