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Until 20 years ago, the Penuelas Reservoir was the main water supply for the city of Valparaiso on the coast of central Chile.
直到20年前，佩努埃拉斯水库还是智利中部沿海城市瓦尔帕莱索市的主要供水水源。
But today, it is almost dry.
但如今，它几乎是干涸的。
A huge open area of dried earth that was once the lake bed is now covered with fish skeletons and animals looking for water.
曾经是湖床的一大片干涸的土地现在被鱼的骨架和寻找水的动物所覆盖。
The South American nation is facing a 13-year drought.
这个南美国家正面临着长达13年的干旱。
Higher air temperatures have meant snow in the Andes Mountains is less dense.
较高的气温意味着安第斯山脉的积雪密度较低。
So, it is melting faster or just drying up.
因此，它融化或干涸得更快。
The snow in the mountains once provided important meltwater during the spring and summer.
山上的积雪曾经在春夏两季提供了重要的融水。
The capital, Santiago, has also been affected.
首都圣地亚哥也受到了影响。
Officials there are making plans to place limits on water use because of disputes between the mining and farming industries.
由于矿业和农业之间的纠纷，那里的官员正在制定限制用水的计划。
Amanda Carrasco is a 54-year-old who lives near the Penuelas Reservoir.
54岁的阿曼达·卡拉斯科住在佩努埃拉斯水库附近。
She said, "We have to beg God to send us water."
她说：“我们不得不祈求上帝给我们送水来。”
She added, "I've never seen it like this. There's been less water before, but not like now."
她还说，“我从来没有见过这样的情况。以前水比较少，但不像现在这样少。”
Jose Luis Murillo works at ESVAL, the company that supplies Valparaiso with water.
何塞·路易斯·穆里洛在ESVAL工作，该公司向瓦尔帕莱索供水。
He said the reservoir needs rainfall and that it "is just a puddle" now.
他说，水库需要降雨，它现在“只是一个水坑”。
A puddle is a small area of water.
水坑指的是一小片水域。
He added that, years ago, the Penuelas Reservoir "was the only source of water for all greater Valparaiso."
他还说，多年前，佩努埃拉斯水库“是整个瓦尔帕莱索的唯一水源”。
Duncan Christie is a researcher at the Center for Climate and Resilience in Chile.
邓肯·克里斯蒂是智利气候与复原中心的研究员。
He said research on trees suggests that conditions are drier than they have been in about 400 years.
他说，对树木的研究表明，现在的环境比过去大约400年来都要干燥。
A 2016 study by weather scientists suggested that low-pressure storms from the Pacific Ocean bring rain and snow to Chile in the winter under normal conditions.
气象科学家2016年的一项研究表明，在正常情况下，来自太平洋的低压风暴在冬季会给智利带来雨雪。
That weather activity brings snow to the Andes Mountains.
这种天气活动会给安第斯山脉带来降雪。
Miguel Lagos is an engineer and a water specialist.
米格尔·拉各斯是一名工程师和水资源专家。
Lagos said the top layers of mountain snow are melting faster than in the past or are turning straight into a gas, or vapor, through a process called sublimation.
拉各斯说，山顶积雪融化的速度比过去更快，或者正在通过升华直接变成蒸汽。
Normally, he said, snow builds up, creating new layers.
他说，通常情况下，雪会堆积起来，形成新的雪层。
This helps keep the area colder for a longer period of time.
这有助于使该地区在更长的一段时间内保持寒冷。
In 2019, a group of researchers from Chile published a study about the country's drought in the International Journal of Climatology.
2019年，智利的一组研究人员在《国际气候学杂志》上发表了一项关于该国干旱的研究。
Their research covered the period from 2010 to 2018.
他们的研究涵盖了2010年至2018年这段时间。
The researchers found that both natural and human-caused forces were affecting the huge drought in Chile.
研究人员发现，自然和人为因素都在影响智利的严重干旱。
But they warned that heat-trapping gasses in the atmosphere and similar problems "will keep pushing Central Chile toward a dry condition" for many years.
但他们警告说，大气中的吸热气体和类似的问题“将会在未来多年继续把智利中部推向干旱状态”。
Researchers at the University of Chile predict the country will have 30 percent less water over the next 30 years.
智利大学的研究人员预测，在接下来的30年里，智利的水资源将会减少30%。
That prediction is based on mathematical models and historical data.
这一预测基于数学模型和历史数据。
Lagos said, "What we call a drought today will become normal."
拉各斯说：“我们今天所说的干旱将会成为常态。”
I'm Jill Robbins.
吉尔·罗宾斯为您播报。
译文为可可英语翻译，未经授权请勿转载！
