大氣褐雲造成冰川消融 使亞洲城市一片灰濛濛 | 環境資訊中心
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大氣褐雲造成冰川消融 使亞洲城市一片灰濛濛

2008年11月19日
摘譯自2008年11月13日ENS中國,北京報導;游珮綺編譯;蔡麗伶審校

北京空氣污染的狀況 (2008年7月) ; 圖片來源 : ENS聯合國環境規劃署(UNEP)的新報告發現,因人類活動而產生的空氣污染,積聚形成了約三公里厚的褐雲,從阿拉伯半島橫跨亞洲蔓延到西太平洋,讓城市越來越灰暗,使喜馬拉雅冰川加速融化,也影響人類健康。

科學家本月稍早在北京發表的研究中提到,因燃燒化石燃料、生質燃料、木頭和植物而形成的大氣褐雲,會吸收陽光熱能,讓空氣的溫度上升。

而根據報告指出,大氣褐雲同時也會掩蓋氣候變遷實際上的暖化衝擊,可達20%-80%,因為其含有硫酸鹽和其他的化學物質,會反射陽光,使地表氣溫下降。

此外,大氣褐雲會使地表光線變得更加黯淡約達10%到25%,主要發生在中國的北京和上海、巴基斯坦的喀拉蚩港市以及印度的新德里。

孟買空氣污染的狀況 (圖片來源 : Avinash Anand)聯合國環境規劃署的拉曼森(Veerabhadran Ramanathan)教授以其在克里普斯海洋研究所(Scripps Institution of Oceanography)的研究為基礎,領導整個研究小組完成這個研究報告。克里普斯海洋研究所位於加州的拉荷雅(La Jolla)。

此一新研究報告再次確認大氣褐雲可能帶來的影響,而這也是拉曼森教授6年前第一次提出報告時的研究內容。

他提到,「我們初步的評估在2002年出版,當時引起了廣大的迴響,當然也有懷疑。但這往往都是人們在面對新奇的事物、影響深遠事件以及反直覺的科學研究時一開始會有的反應。」

現在,拉曼森則呼籲國際社會對於這個研究發現必須有所回應,因為我們必須面對的是溫室氣體和大氣褐雲的雙重威脅,而這二者都會導致我們無法達到永續發展的目標。

他說,「在報告中所突顯出最嚴重的問題之一,就是興都庫什山、喜馬拉雅、西藏地區的冰川消融,這些冰川是亞洲多數河流的主要源頭,對於亞洲的用水和食物安全有相當重要的影響。」

而隱身在這個研究報告之後的科學小組有來自於世界各地的大學及研究中心,包括中國、印度、日本、韓國、新加坡、泰國、以及歐洲和美國。

這份《大氣褐雲:亞洲區域評估》報告可在聯合國環境規劃署網站下載。

Brown Clouds Melt Glaciers, Darken Cities Across Asia
BEIJING, China, November 13, 2008 (ENS)

A brown cloud of pollution caused by human activities, three kilometers thick and stretching from the Arabian Peninsula across Asia to the western Pacific Ocean, is darkening cities, speeding the melting of Himalayan glaciers and affecting human health, finds a new report from the United Nations Environment Programme.

Atmospheric brown clouds, formed by the burning of fossil fuels, biofuels, wood and plants, absorb sunlight and heat the air, experts write in the study released today in Beijing.

The clouds also mask the actual warming impact of climate change by anywhere between 20 and 80 percent because they include sulfates and other chemicals which reflect sunlight and cool the surface, according to the report.

Dimming of between 10 and 25 percent is occurring over Beijing and Shanghai, in China, Karachi, Pakistan, and New Delhi, India.

Professor Veerabhadran Ramanathan, head of the UNEP scientific panel carrying out the research, is based at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla, California.

The new report provides confirmation of the atmospheric brown clouds effects that Ramanathan's research first documented six years ago.

"Our preliminary assessment, published in 2002, triggered a great deal of awareness but also skepticism," he said. "That has often been the initial reaction to new, novel and far reaching, counter-intuitive scientific research."

Ramanathan called for an international response to the report's findings that "tackles the twin threats of greenhouse gases and brown clouds and the unsustainable development that underpins both."

"One of the most serious problems highlighted in the report is the documented retreat of the Hind Kush-Himalayan-Tibetan glaciers, which provide the headwaters for most Asian rivers, and thus have serious implications for the water and food security of Asia," he said.

The scientific team behind the report is drawn from universities and research centers in China, India, Japan, Korea, Singapore and Thailand as well as Europe and the United States.

To read the report, "Atmospheric Brown Clouds: Regional Assessment Report With Focus on Asia," click here.

作者

蔡麗伶(LiLing Barricman)

In my healing journey and learning to attain the breath awareness, I become aware of the reality that all the creatures of the world are breathing the same breath. Take action, here and now. From my physical being to the every corner of this out of balance's planet.