When the siren(警报器) sounded on Friday night, my first thought was fire.
周五晚上警报响起时，我的第一反应是着火了。
Weeks of unrelenting(持续不断的) sun in the normally soggy(湿透的，潮湿的) Peak District, where I was visiting my mum, have bleached(晒白，漂白) green valleys a dangerously dry, crispy blond. One of her neighbours had earlier pointed out an ominous(不祥的，恶兆的) cloud of smoke on the horizon(在地平线上；即将来临), coming from one of the wildfires raging(肆虐的，猛烈的) all summer on the moor. When that harsh, discordant(不协调的，刺耳的) shriek blared(发出刺耳响声) from every mobile phone in the house, I was half-braced(半做好准备) for an evacuation order, not what turned out to be a faintly melodramatic(夸张的，耸人听闻的) warning to the nation to lay off(停止，别再做) the barbecues. A false alarm, of sorts(某种程度上的), but one that felt uneasily like a wake-up call(警钟，警示).
我前往探望母亲的峰区（Peak District）通常潮湿多雨，但连续数周的烈日将翠绿的山谷晒成了干枯的、岌岌可危的金黄色。她的一位邻居早些时候曾指着地平线上的一团不祥的烟雾，那是整个夏天在荒原上肆虐的野火之一。当刺耳、不协调的尖叫声从屋内每部手机中响起时，我做好了疏散令的准备，结果却是一条略显夸张的全国警告，让大家别再用烧烤炉。这算是一场虚惊，但让人不安地觉得像一记警钟。
Scientists can warn until they’re blue in the face(费尽口舌，说得口干舌燥) about the consequences of what we’re doing to the planet, but nothing beats the visceral(发自内心的，本能的) shock of idly(漫不经心地，懒散地) scrolling on your phone and seeing panicky(恐慌的，惊慌的) footage(影像，镜头) of flames leaping(跳跃，猛冲) over suburban British fences, or terrified horses being turned loose(释放，放开) from fields where the hedges are starting to catch light. A friend just back from the south of France, somewhere far enough from the raging wildfires there to be considered safe, was spooked(受惊，吓到) by ash raining from the sky as she ate lunch in the garden: it felt like the beginning of an apocalypse(世界末日，大灾难), she said, or the opening scenes of a disaster movie. Something has shifted even in people who were once blase(漠不关心的，无动于衷的) about the climate crisis, and judging by last week’s sudden flurry(一阵，一连串) of government activity – a Cobra meeting(英国政府紧急应变会议) on fighting wildfires called after hefty(巨大的，有力的) pressure from the Greens, extra support for drought-stricken(遭受干旱的) farmers, and finally that emergency alert lighting up everyone’s phones – Andy Burnham has clocked(意识到，注意到) the dangers of not being seen to respond.
科学家们可以苦口婆心地警告我们正在对地球造成的后果，但没有什么比得上那种发自内心的震撼：你漫不经心地刷着手机，看到火焰跳过英国郊区栅栏的惊慌画面，或者看到惊恐的马匹被从树篱开始着火的田野里放出来。一位刚从法国南部回来的朋友，那里离肆虐的野火足够远，本应安全，但她在花园里吃午饭时，被从天而降的灰烬吓了一跳：她说，感觉就像世界末日的开始，或者灾难片的开场。即使在那些曾经对气候危机漠不关心的人身上，有些事情也已经改变了。从上周政府突然的一系列行动来看——在绿党的巨大压力下召开了应对野火的眼镜蛇会议，为遭受干旱的农民提供额外支持，最后还有那条点亮所有人手机的紧急警报——安迪·伯纳姆已经意识到，如果不表现出应对的姿态，将会面临危险。