救救孩子！澳洲2000多只考拉或在大火中被烧死
据路透通讯社报道，11月以来，一场前所未见的大火在澳大利亚东海岸大范围肆虐，造成至少4人丧生，680所房屋被毁，超过百万公顷的原始林区化为乌有。
然而，很多人并没有想到，这次大火当中还有一群脆弱的受害者——被澳政府奉为“国宝”的考拉。
澳大利亚东北森林联盟主席、生态学家戴兰·普在新南威尔士州州议会上议院于周一举行的紧急听证会中，提供考拉丧生及其栖息地毁灭的相关证据。他指出，大火可能造成三分之一的考拉栖息地被毁，超过2000只本土考拉丧生。
Wildfires have killed at least four people, destroyed more than 680 homes and burned more than 2.5 million acres (1 million hectares) of bushland across eastern Australia since the start of November.
North East Forest Alliance president and ecologist Dailan Pugh said more than 2,000 koalas may have died in the fires with up to one-third of the koala habitat on the north coast lost.
澳洲大火不容乐观
随着本周气温的进一步上升，消防员与澳洲东部海岸大火的搏斗也越发艰难。
据路透社报道，在新南威尔士州和维多利亚州，至少有上百场大火仍在燃烧，很多已经持续了数周。
本周二，气温预计将上升至40摄氏度，且风力逐渐加强，或令大火蔓延至人口更密集区域。
专家表示，在没有有效降雨的情况下，大火很难熄灭，这也意味着这场史无前例的大火还将持续至少三个月时间。
“在浓烟中迎接新的一天”，已经成为了500万悉尼人最近几个星期的生活常态。
这座向来以蓝天、白云、大海闻名世界的旅游城市，现如今浓烟锁城、红日当空，走在大街上，仿佛来到了世界末日拍摄的现场。
行人不得不戴上了口罩，即便如此，依然不能阻挡烟雾带来的健康伤害。
上周二，悉尼的空气质量指数暴涨至669，相当于一天抽了30根香烟。
Firefighters across Australia’s east coast were bracing for a fresh wave of fires as temperatures across the country’s most populous state were expected to soar.
More than 100 fires are ablaze in New South Wales (NSW) and Victoria states, many of which have been burning for several weeks - including a single blaze that stretches more than 60 km (37 miles) in a national park north of Sydney.
Conditions were set to worsen on Tuesday as temperatures top 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) and winds are expected to start picking up, stoking fears that fires could spread to more populated areas.
Authorities have warned the blaze is unlikely to be extinguished until meaningful rain arrives - which is not expected for at least three months - and forecasts indicate the fire could be pushed toward larger population areas.
The wildfires have blanketed Sydney - home to more than 5 million people - in smoke and ash for more than two weeks, turning the daytime sky orange, obscuring visibility and prompting commuters to wear breathing masks.
考拉最受伤
在整场大火中，最让人心痛的，莫过于那些生活在森林中的蠢萌小考拉了。
上个月，一段小考拉在新南威尔士州大火中被救下的视频走红网络。
视频里，一位澳洲奶奶将一只在大火中濒临绝望的考拉从树上救下。
由于考拉被严重烫伤，老奶奶不得不用水浇在考拉身上给它降温。整个过程中，考拉都在发出痛苦的叫声。
被老奶奶命名为路易斯的小考拉，随后被送往医院救治。然而由于伤势无法痊愈，医院在一周之后，只能为它进行了安乐死。
Ellenborough Lewis, The koala who shot to internet fame after being rescued last week from massive wildfires that engulfed the Australian state of New South Wales, has died.
Port Macquarie Koala Hospital made the decision to euthanize Lewis Tuesday after inspecting his wounds. It became clear that the marsupial's burns were not going to improve, the hospital said in a Facebook post.
Lewis' story went viral after video showed motorist Toni Doherty running from her car to help the koala near Port Macquarie as the catastrophic fires that have ravaged New South Wales burned all around them.
这只最后安详离去的小考拉，和其它在大火中茫然无措，被活活烧死的考拉们相比，或许算幸运的。
周一的紧急听证会上，澳洲自然保护委员会（Nature Conservation Council）的生态学家马克·格雷厄姆表示，大部分情况下，考拉“真的没有能力迅速移动以逃离”从树顶蔓延开来的树冠火。
格雷厄姆还说，“大火烧得这么火热和迅速，导致树林里动物的大批量死亡，但是现在大片区域大火仍在燃烧，我们可能永远也找不到它们的躯体了。”
Mark Graham, an ecologist with the Nature Conservation Council, told the inquiry that koalas in most instances “really have no capacity to move fast enough to get away” from fast-moving crown fires that spread from treetop to treetop.
“The fires have burned so hot and so fast that there has been significant mortality of animals in the trees, but there is such a big area now that is still on fire and still burning that we will probably never find the bodies,” Graham said.
历史级大火，是天灾还是人祸？
这次的反常大火，让很多人不禁有了这样的疑问：气候变化跟大火到底有没有关系？
森林大火&自然灾害合作研究中心的首席执行官理查德·桑顿表示，“我们很难笼统地将某个具体事件归咎于气候变化，尤其是当事件还在进行时。”
但他也补充道，“我们知道的是，澳洲现在的平均气温比长期平均值高了一度。”
Bushfires on such a scale have led many Australians to ask how closely the fires can be linked to climate change.
"We find it very difficult in general to attribute climate change impacts to a specific event, particularly while the event is running," said Dr Richard Thornton, chief executive of the Bushfires & Natural Hazards Co-operative Research Centre.
"But what we do know is that the average temperature in Australia now is running about 1C above the long-term average." He added fire seasons were starting earlier and "the cumulative fire danger" in many areas was growing.
对此，澳洲政府却视若无睹。
大火发生后，澳大利亚总理莫里森面对记者时，被问及关于气候变化的问题，他却避而不谈，“我现在唯一的想法就是和那些失去生命和家人的人们在一起。”
然而，批评者指责，莫里森这套说辞和美国政客在枪击案发生后的公关手法如出一辙。
澳大利亚副总理迈克尔·麦考马克之后也是口不择言惹众怒，他说“澳大利亚自古以来就有大火发生。”
澳大利亚是《巴黎协定》签署国之一，在协定中承诺，到2030年减少26%-28%的温室气体排放。
然而近几年，澳大利亚却以实际行动放弃了承诺。
自2014年至今，澳大利亚的碳排放量逐年递增；2014年，澳大利亚撤销了针对大型工业企业温室气体减排的计划；截至目前，澳大利亚没有出台任何鼓励主要污染企业（重工业、交通运输和农业）的减排政策。
The nation's political leaders are facing a backlash for batting away questions on the subject.
Last month, Prime Minister Scott Morrison refused to answer a question about climate change, saying: "My only thoughts today are with those who have lost their lives and their families."
Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack stoked the most anger, when on Monday he dismissed climate change as the concerns of "raving inner-city lefties" who were ignoring the needs of rural Australians. "We've had fires in Australia since time began," he said.
The nation's target under the Paris Agreement - the global deal to tackle rising global temperatures - is a 26-28% reduction in emissions by 2030. Last year, the UN reported that Australia - the world's largest coal exporter - was not on track to meet its commitment.