Summer ends amid changed climate in Beijing
不止季节，北京的气候也变了
I was always a bit of a weather nerd.
一直以来，我有点像一个天气迷。
In the United States, I would tune in regularly to the Weather Channel.
在美国，我常常定期收看天气频道。
Having been born in the Philippines, the land of 20 typhoons a year, I kept a studious eye out on the weather.
菲律宾每年有20次台风，在这里出生的我对天气关注备至。
My first summer in Beijing in 2019, the cool springlike weather lasted for all of a week.
我2019年度过了在北京的第一个夏天，有整一周的时间天气都似春天般凉爽。
After May 8, the heat swiftly climbed into the mid-30 degrees and stayed that way until around the middle of September.
5月8日之后，气温骤升至35摄氏度左右，直到九月中旬才开始降温。
There were days when the early morning temperature was over 30 C and walking to the small supermarket down the road from the China Daily compound became an exercise in sweat management.
有段时间，早间温度也在30摄氏度以上，从中国日报大院走到路边的小超市这短短路程也能让我大汗淋漓。
Not to mention having a water bottle handy to keep hydrated like a beached monitor lizard.
而且我还得随身携带水瓶，随时补充水分，就像一只被拖上岸的巨蜥。
For a newcomer, I thought that was the norm when the summer of 2020 came in just as steamy even though the COVID-19 pandemic seems to have moderated the temperatures a little.
即使新冠疫情似乎给天气降了降温，2020年夏天也同样湿热，初来乍到的我以为这是夏季常态。
And then 2021 rolled in.
然后，2021年就来了。
At first, it seemed like the previous summers, with the thermometer going into the mid-30s C in June.
一开始，天气和之前的夏天似乎并无不同，六月份温度可达至35摄氏度左右。
But then it started to rain, almost every afternoon on the dot. Some days, it seemed someone decided to turn on the spigot full blast.
然后就开始下雨，几乎每天下午准时下，有时候就像是有人决定把水龙头开到最大，让水倾泻而出。
"We get more rainstorms than dust storms in Beijing," a friend quipped while watching the large drops slam against the windows of our building.
看着硕大的雨珠拍打着办公楼的窗户，一位朋友打趣说：“北京今年的暴雨比沙尘暴都多”。
Scientists say this is how climate change will look like.
科学家说这就是气候变化的表现。
NASA in the United States put it this way:
美国国家航天局是这样解释的：
"Current climate models indicate that rising temperatures will intensify the Earth's water cycle, increasing evaporation.
目前的气候模型显示，气温上升将会加剧地球水循环，增加蒸发量。
Increased evaporation will result in more frequent and intense storms, but will also contribute to drying over some land areas.
蒸发量上升将会导致暴雨愈加频繁和剧烈，但也会导致一些内陆地区的干旱。
As a result, storm-affected areas are likely to experience increases in precipitation and increased risk of flooding, while areas located far away from storm tracks are likely to experience less precipitation and increased risk of drought."
这样一来，受暴雨影响地区降水量将会上升，洪水风险加剧，而远离风暴轨迹的地方则有可能降水量减少，干旱风险加剧。
Another from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change climate report is just as blunt.
政府间气候变化委员会气候报告的表述则同样直白。
"Climate change is intensifying the water cycle. This brings more intense rainfall and associated flooding, as well as more intense drought in many regions," it said.
“气候变化正加剧水循环，将带来更为剧烈的降雨以及洪水，也会给许多地区造成更严峻的干旱”。
The language is scientific, but the impact of the intense rainfall has been deadly. Hundreds have perished in China from floods. Wildfires killed scores in California in the US and Greece.
虽然上述科学语言可能晦涩难懂，但是降水加剧的影响却是人命关天的。在中国，数百人因洪水而丧生，在美国加州和希腊，大量生命也被野外火灾夺走。
I can see climate change happening outside my apartment window, watching in morbid fascination as the thunderheads of clouds form on the horizon and march like invading soldiers into the city.
我可以看到，气候变化现在就发生在我公寓的窗外，看着大片雷暴云从地平线上升起，颇具士兵侵城的架势，我感到一种病态的痴迷。
The weather has not only been weird. Climate change is not just something on the horizon anymore. It is here.
天气并不是只有奇怪那么简单，气候变化不再是即将到来的事物，它正在实实在在地发生着。
