Weather experts say this year could be one of the strongest El Niño events in recorded history.
气象专家表示今年可能是有记录以来最为强烈的厄尔尼诺事件之一。
Experts say El Niño could mean severe weather conditions in many parts of the world. In eastern Africa, for example, Kenya and Uganda are preparing for possible flooding. Yet two countries further south, South Africa and Malawi, are already dealing with extremely dry weather.
专家表示，厄尔尼诺现象可能意味着全球很多地区遭遇恶劣天气状况。以非洲东部为例，肯尼亚和乌干达正在准备迎接可能到来的洪水。然而南非和马拉维这两个更靠近南部的国家已经开始应对极端干旱天气。
El Niño is Spanish for "the child." It usually begins in December, near the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. In fact, the weather event was named in his honor.
厄尔尼诺在西班牙语中是“圣婴”的意思。它通常始于十二月，时间接近于耶稣基督的诞辰庆祝日。实际上，该天气事件是以他的名字命名。
El Niño develops when winds off the west coast of South America weaken. This permits warm water in the western Pacific to expand toward the east and the Americas. At the same time, clouds and rain over the warm water move east, too.
当南美洲西海岸吹来的风减弱时，厄尔尼诺现象就开始发展。这使得西太平洋的暖流向东部和美洲扩张。与此同时，暖流之上的云雨也向东部移动。
El Niño conditions normally appear only about two times every 10 years. Usually, El Niño conditions continue for about 12 to 18 months. They bring warm weather to some areas. These areas become wetter than normal, while others become drier.
厄尔尼诺现象通常每10年只出现两次左右。厄尔尼诺现象会持续大约12到18个月。它们给部分地区带来了温暖天气，这些地区变得比往常更加多雨，而另一些地区变干旱。
The United Nations Children's Fund warns that many people are at risk from hunger, disease and water shortages resulting from El Niño. In east and southern Africa, it warns, up to 11-million children could be affected.
联合国儿童基金会警告称，很多人都面临着厄尔尼诺造成的饥饿、疾病和水资源短缺的风险。该机构警告称，在非洲东部和南部高达1100万儿童可能受到影响。
East African countries usually receive heavy rainfall during an El Niño. Southern Africa usually has little rainfall, which may lead to wildfires or drought conditions.
东部非洲国家通常在厄尔尼诺期间遭受暴雨。南部非洲通常降雨不多，这可能会导致森林火灾和干旱情况。
Onesmus Ruirie is a weather expert with the Kenya Meteorological Department. He explains how these different weather events can result.
Onesmus Ruirie是肯尼亚气象局的一位气象专家。他解释了这些不同的天气事件如何导致不同的结果。
"What happens is that during an El Niño, the weather pattern changes. And for East Africa, we have a very warm equatorial Indian Ocean. And if the Indian Ocean is very warm due to evaporation of the ocean water, we have that water blown to the continental East Africa. And that is why you have a lot of rain in East Africa. But to the south, that denies them the moisture. So that tends to be dry in the southern Africa."
他说，“在厄尔尼诺现象期间，天气模式发生了变化。对东非而言，我们有非常温暖的赤道印度洋。如果印度洋由于海水蒸发而非常暖和，这些蒸发的水分就会吹向东非大陆。这样东非就会有很多降雨。但是对南部而言水分减少了，这样南部非洲往往就会干旱。”
Weather changes caused by El Niño depend on the strength of the condition. In the early 1980s, a strong El Niño was linked to dry weather in Australia and Asia, rain and flooding in South America and high temperatures in much of the United States. Ten years later, a smaller El Niño caused trouble in parts of the U.S. It was linked to severe floods in the Southeast and the Middle West.
厄尔尼诺导致的气候变化取决于该现象的强度。在上世纪80年代，一次强烈的厄尔尼诺现象导致了澳洲和亚洲的干旱、南美洲的降雨和洪水以及美国大部分地区的高温。十年之后，一次更小的厄尔尼诺现象给美国部分地区带来了麻烦，导致了美国东南部和中西部地区发生严重洪涝灾害。
Tom Di Leberto is a meteorologist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in Washington, D.C. He says this year could be the third strongest El Niño on record. But, we will not know for sure until early 2016 when all the weather records are examined.
Tom Di Leberto是位于华盛顿特区的美国国家海洋和大气管理局的一位气象学家。他说，今年可能是有记录以来强度排名第三的一次厄尔尼诺现象。但是在2016年年初所有气象记录被检查之前我们无法确认这点。
I'm Jonathan Evans.
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