Nearly 25,000 residents have been forced to leave their homes in Rio Grande do Sul — the state in the most southern part of Brazil — since the storms began on Saturday 27 April. In certain cities, water levels are at their highest in 150 years, according to the Brazilian Geological Service.
自4月27日星期六风暴开始以来，巴西最南部的南里奥格兰德州已有近2.5万居民被迫离开家园。根据巴西地质调查局的数据，某些城市的水位达到了150年来的最高水平。
However they have now said the amount of rain is now starting to reduce. A rare combination of average temperatures that are hotter than usual, along with high humidity and strong winds has led to the unusual weather.
然而，他们现在表示，降雨量现在开始减少。罕见的平均气温比平时更热，加上高湿度和强风，导致了这种不寻常的天气。
The floods have caused landslides, collapsed bridges, and turned roads into rivers throughout the state. So far, 75 people have died and more than 100 people are still missing. The governor of Rio Grande do Sul, Eduardo Leite, said on Sunday: “I repeat and insist: The devastation to which we are being subjected is extremely serious.” But he said that the country’s emergency services and other workers are doing all they can to help everyone affected. He said on social media on Tuesday 7 May that 350,000 lives have been saved as a result of their efforts.
洪水造成了山体滑坡，桥梁倒塌，整个州的道路都变成了河流。到目前为止，已有75人死亡，100多人失踪。南里奥格兰德州州长爱德华多·雷特周日表示:“我重申并坚持认为:我们遭受的破坏极其严重。”但他表示，该国的紧急服务部门和其他工作人员正在尽其所能帮助所有受影响的人。他于5月7日星期二在社交媒体上表示，由于他们的努力，已经挽救了35万人的生命。
Why is this happening? Brazil’s National Institute of Meteorology have said it’s down to a climate phenomenon called El Niño. El Niño (which means ‘the boy’ in Spanish) makes global weather warmer. It happens when water in the Eastern Pacific heats up more than normal, and creates unusually hot and stormy weather. In contrast, global weather can at times be affected by El Niño’s sister, La Niña (the girl). This occurs when water cools down more than usual in parts of the Pacific Ocean, between South America and Australia. When the sea surface temperature drops by around 3-5 degrees Celsius, La Niña is declared. This leads to cooler and drier weather on average. As such, until recently, Brazil was experiencing a lot of drought as a result of La Niña.
为什么会发生这种情况?巴西国家气象研究所表示，这是由一种名为厄尔尼诺的气候现象造成的。厄尔尼诺使全球气候变暖。当东太平洋的海水升温超过正常水平时，就会产生异常炎热和暴风雨的天气。相比之下，全球天气有时会受到厄尔尼诺的姊妹拉尼娜的影响。当南美洲和澳大利亚之间的太平洋部分地区的海水比平时降温得更快时，就会发生这种情况。当海面温度下降3 ~ 5摄氏度时，就会宣布为“拉尼娜”。这导致平均天气更冷、更干燥。因此，直到最近，由于拉尼娜，巴西经历了严重的干旱。
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