肯尼亚遭遇干旱 科学家研究降雨
An extreme cycle of drought in the Horn of Africa has pushed millions into hunger. Now, Kenyan meteorologists are exploring ways to enhance rainfall in areas of the country dried out by climate change.
非洲之角地区的一波极端旱情导致数百万人陷入饥饿。目前，肯尼亚的气象学家正在研究如何增加该国一些地区的降雨，这些地区因气候变化而变得干旱。
The latest report from the Famine Early Warning Systems, known as FEWS-NET, shows areas of northern Kenya locked in a severe drought.
来自饥荒早期预警系统()的最新报告显示，肯尼亚北部地区遭受严重的干旱。
FEWS-NET warns cattle are dying from a scarcity of water and more than one million people are in a food emergency.
饥荒早期预警系统警告说，牛因为缺水而死亡，100多万人处于粮食紧急状态。
And the rainy season is not expected for several more months.
估计还要再过几个月雨季才会到来。
But what if scientists could make it rain?
但是如果科学家能够引发降雨又会怎样？
The Kenyan Meteorological Department has begun exploring ways to induce rain in dry areas of the country, through a process known as cloud-seeding. Deputy director of the KMD, Peter Ambenje says his department has begun taking measurements to see what is possible.
肯尼亚气象部门已开始探索如何通过所谓云的催化在干旱地区引发降雨。肯尼亚气象局副局长彼德·阿姆本耶说，他们已经开始采取措施探寻可能的方法。
"You have to study the clouds to see the ones that are amenable for seeding, so those studies have to be carried out. See the ones that you can seed, see the ones that cannot be seeded and this and that. So there have to be some studies initially to ascertain that yes this is working," he explained.
阿姆本耶说：“必须研究云，看看哪些云适合催化，所以不得不做这些研究。看哪些云能够催化，看哪些云不能催化，另外还有这样那样的问题。因此先要做些研究，以确定是否可以催化。”
Cloud-seeding is a technique to enhance rainfall by introducing particles - often silver iodide crystals - into cloud systems, to help condense water vapor into raindrops.
云的催化是指将催化剂颗粒打入云中使云中的水蒸汽凝聚成水滴，从而实现降雨的技术，催化剂颗粒通常为碘化银。
The particles are either shot into the clouds using rockets, or dispersed from passing airplanes.
人们通常是用火箭弹将催化剂打入云中或用飞机来喷洒。The question is whether such a tactic can help bring rain to drought affected areas.
问题在于，这种方法是否能给干旱地区带来降雨。阿姆本耶对此表示怀疑。
Ambenje is doubtful. "All that that does is to enhance rainfall probably during the rainfall season," he said. "You know, for you to generate rainfall, there are a number of factors that you have to look at, moisture availability and so on and so forth. So during a drought you may not be able to enhance rain in the cloud system."
阿姆本耶说：“这些方法是在雨季增加降雨。你知道，要产生降雨，你必须考虑若干因素，比如湿度可利用性等等。所以在干旱时期，可能无法提高云中的雨量。”
Without some moisture already in the system, and without the right clouds to seed, there is little that scientists can do to induce rain.
如果云中没有一定的湿度，没有适合的云来作催化，科学家就很难引发降雨。
Still, the Kenyan government is going ahead with the project, which is part of the country's Vision 2030 initiative - a long-term plan to foster Kenya's development in the coming decades.
不过肯尼亚政府仍在继续推进这个项目，这是该国“展望2030计划”的部分内容，这是一项促进肯尼亚未来几十年发展的长期计划。
And while it may be little help this year, creating better weather conditions for farmers and maintaining water supplies for cattle, could help the country better prepare for future food emergencies.
虽然这个项目对今年的抗旱可能没什么帮助，但如果这项研究最终能够创造更好的天气条件，为牛保持水的供应，肯尼亚就可以更好地对付未来的粮食危机。
