近日，热浪席卷英国等国家，高温蔓延！这波暑热已经促使英国政府宣布进入“国家紧急状态”。
按照英国气象局预报，英格兰的伦敦、曼彻斯特、约克郡等地18日至19日发布“极端高温”红色警报。这是英国去年开始应用高温警报系统以来，首次发布这一最高级别警报。
Britain's government triggered a "national emergency" alert.
当地时间周二（19日），英国气温最高达到40.2度，创下新高，也是英国有史以来气温首次超过40摄氏度。英国的交通系统和医疗服务面临严峻考验。
The United Kingdom (UK) had its hottest day on record on Tuesday with temperatures exceeding 40 degrees Celsius in some places. At midday on Tuesday, the mercury rose to 40.2 degrees Celsius at London Heathrow. The sweltering heat put the country's transport and medical services to a severe test.
高温天气使得人们开始居家办公，学生远程上课。有关部门告知民众不要搭乘列车出行，因为高温可能导致铁轨膨胀弯折，造成危险。
In the UK, it forced people to work from home and students to study remotely. Authorities told people not to take trains, which become dangerous on hot tracks that expand and bend in the heat.
路透社的报道视频显示，相关部门提示7月18和19日天气炎热，建议非必要不出行，要常备饮用水。
CNN称，这些“提示”其实只为了说明一件事：别出门。然而，英国可能更愿意抗寒而非避暑，因为房屋设计时就考虑了保存热量。目前桌上电扇热销全英。
In other words, don't leave home. But in the UK, which is more likely to struggle with cold rather than hot, homes too are designed to keep heat in. Desk fans are selling out all over the country.
除了铁路，高温也对伦敦卢顿机场的跑道造成了破坏。受此影响，机场被迫关闭了几个小时。卢顿机场在推特上公布了相关情况，并于当天晚间恢复了运行。另据天空新闻报道，英国皇家空军也于当天早些时候也宣布，英国最大空军基地布莱兹诺顿皇家空军基地的机场暂停飞机进出，天空新闻称该基地跑道“热化了”。
The intense heat since Monday has damaged the runway at London’s Luton airport, forcing it to shut for several hours. London Luton Airport announced the situation via Twitter and updated its status when the airport resumed operations on Monday evening. Luton Airport's announcement came hours after the Royal Air Force (RAF) paused all flights to and from Brize Norton, its biggest air base, in Oxfordshire after a report from Sky News suggested that the runway had "melted."
不过，面对英国的高温天气，却有政客称民众应当“享受阳光”。英国副首相多米尼克·拉布在接受天空新闻采访时，先是说要采取一些“常识性”手段，比如保持人体足够水分，避免最热的时候太阳直晒，涂防晒霜等等。随后，拉布说道：“我们应该享受阳光，应该有足够的适应能力。”此外，他还坚称学校不应该因为高温暂时放假。
Britons should “enjoy the sunshine” during the heatwave, Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab has said."Obviously there is some common-sense practical advice we are talking about — stay hydrated, stay out of the sun at the hottest times, wear sun cream — those sorts of things," Raab told Sky News on Sunday. "We ought to enjoy the sunshine and actually we ought to be resilient enough through some of the pressures it will place," he added, insisting there was no reason for schools to close when the mercury peaks on Monday and Tuesday.
面临高温热浪的不仅仅是英国。据新华网报道，西班牙酷暑已导致数百人丧生，日本和美国多地高温破纪录。法国自12日迎来长达10天的高温天气。法国气象局宣布，7个省处于高温橙色预警状态，另有数十个省处于黄色预警状态。
专家将北半球今夏的高温“炙烤”模式归因于气候变化，并提醒公众加强自我防护。联合国政府间气候变化专门委员会此前发布的评估报告指出，最近50年全球变暖正以过去2000年以来前所未有的速度发生，气候系统不稳定加剧。
7月19日，在荷兰哈勒姆，一名女孩跳向水中消暑。新华社发（西尔维娅·莱德雷尔摄）
综合来源：新华网，CNN，美联社
