Outside the arctic, there is another frozen realm that stretches across the world’s continents. Our high mountains… home to an extraordinary array of species. Some found nowhere else on earth. But here, too, there is a problem.
在北极以外，还有另一个冰冻境界绵延在世界上的大陆。高耸山脉，是千奇百怪的各类物种的家。其中一些是其他地方找不到的。然而这里也有问题。
Across the world, mountain glaciers which have existed for tens of thousands of years are shrinking and vanishing. By the end of this century, some ranges may have no ice remaining at all… And this will affect not just animals… but people too.
在世界各地的山区，已经存在上万年的冰河正在缩小消失。本世纪结束前，部分山脉可能会完全无冰。这样不仅会影响到动物，人类也无法幸免。
Ice loss from the mountain glaciers from the great ranges of the world have a huge consequence for the populations downstream, and that consequence is their water supply. Glaciers in the himalayas are the source of ten of the largest rivers in Asia, which together provide reliable fresh water for around a billion people downstream.
山区冰河与世上各大山脉的冰层减少对下游人口造成巨大影响，这个影响就是水源。喜马拉雅山脉的冰河是亚洲十大河川的水源，共同提供了下游约十亿人口可靠的淡水来源。
If the glaciers disappear, so too will the water they supply. We know that these glaciers are losing about half a metre of ice a year. What we don’t know is how much ice is left. So if we know how many metres of ice are left, we can work out how long they’ll last, how long this water supply will keep going.
要是冰河消失，它们所提供的水也会消失。我们知道这些冰河每年会失去约半米的冰。但我们不晓得还剩下多少。假使知道剩下多少米的冰，就能算出还能维持多久，这个水源还能持续多久。
Dr Hamish pritchard ls part of a team of scientists who have devised a new instrument to measure one of the largest himalayan glaciers. What we’re putting together here is a long frame structure, and it’s designed to hang underneath a helicopter. We’re going to put a radar on it, and the radar will send out the radio waves and then they’ll bounce back off the bottom of the glacier
哈米许普查德博士所属的科学家团队设计出一种新仪器，要测量喜马拉雅山脉最大的冰河之一。我们正在组装的是一个长形框架结构，其设计是要吊挂在直升机下方。我们会在上面安装雷达，雷达会发射无线电波，然后被冰河底部反射，
and we’ll be able to measure how thick the ice is. Once his team know how thick the ice is, they can start to work out how long it will last. Yeah, it’s a nervous moment. We’re just waiting for it to get lifted up for the first time. We’re hoping it’s going to be nice, steady, stable, a nice easy liftoff. But we’re about to find out.
就能测量出冰层厚度。一旦他的团队知道冰层厚度，就能开始估算冰河还能维持多久。现在很紧张。我们正在等待它首次起飞。希望升空过程会是稳定平顺。马上就会知道。
Line is clear. Line is lifting. Hi, it’s Hamish here. How is it flying? Yeah, when the wind picks up, it’s a little… A little more squirrelly, but no problems otherwise. You might want to gain a little bit of height there. Yeah, no problem. Yeah, we’ll fly out and then head towards Everest.
缆绳无缠绕。缆绳正在拉起。阿斯托，我是哈米许。飞行还顺利吗？是的，虽然起风时有点晃，但其余一切正常。你可以再飞高一点。没问题。我们飞出去后会朝珠穆朗玛峰前进。
After hours of scanning, the projection for this particular glacier is finally revealed. Yep, that’s pretty nice and clear. I can see exactly how thick that ice is. That’s about 150 metres. So, at the current rate of melting, this section would last maybe 200 to 300 years.
经过数小时的扫瞄，这条冰河的预测结果总算揭晓。影像很清晰。我可以清楚看出冰层厚度。大约是150米。以目前的融化速度来说，这一段大概还能维持两百至三百年。
But we know that the melt rates are increasing. And this is one of the biggest glaciers, so there are many, many glaciers which are much smaller than this, much thinner ice… And they’re going to be disappearing much, much earlier than that.
但我们也知道融化速度正在加快。这是最大的冰河之一，还有许多冰河规模较小，冰层较薄。它们会更早就消失。
Water is already scarce in parts of Asia, and as glacial water supplies dry up, there will be even less to go round. So what happens if these glaciers disappear? Is that in dry summers the rivers dry up? Tensions rise… Especially between nations that share water across borders… So one of the big risks of losing this ice is that it raises the risk of conflict. And that’s a frightening prospect.
水在亚洲部分地区已是稀有资源，随着冰河水源渐渐干涸，届时分配将更为不均。要是这些冰河消失会怎么样？会像干旱夏季时河流干涸吗？紧张情势升高，尤其是边界共享水源的国家之间。失去这些冰层的重大危机之一就是提高发生冲突的可能。这种前景令人害怕。
I have a one-year-old son. Children born at the same time as him will see this happen. We need to act now to turn those trajectories round.
我有个一岁的儿子。跟他同时期出生的孩子将会目睹此事发生。我们必须立刻采取行动，扭转这种趋势。
重点词汇
source [sɔ:s]
n. 发源地，来源，原始资料
steady [‘stedi]
adj. 稳定的，稳固的，坚定的
v. 使稳固
consequence [‘kɔnsikwəns]
n. 结果，后果
frame [freim]
n. 框，结构，骨架
v. 构成，把 …
supply [sə’plai]
n. 补给，供给，供应，贮备
vt. 补给，供
species [‘spi:ʃiz]
n. （单复同）物种，种类
glacial [‘gleisiəl]
adj. 冰的，冰川(期)的，非常冷的，缓慢的
realm [relm]
n. 王国，领域
frightening [‘fraitniŋ]
adj. 令人恐惧的，令人害怕的 动词frighten的
conflict [‘kɔnflikt]
n. 冲突，矛盾，斗争，战斗