The after-work revelries are under way across Japan, with the nation noisily celebrating the annual arrival of the cherry blossoms with mobile karaoke machines and crates¹ of beer. Experts warn, however, that the party could be drawing to a close.

随着一年一度樱花季的来临，整个日本都沉浸在樱花节的狂欢气氛里。移动卡拉OK、成箱的啤酒，全体日本民众都在闲暇时欢庆这一盛会。然而，专家警告称，这样的盛会今后可能不会再有。

Already threatened by rising temperatures and pollution in cities that have combined to reduce the number of flowers, the iconic cherry blossoms are also falling victim to time.

不断上升的气温和日益严重的污染已经使樱花数量减少，而作为日本的标志，樱花也熬不过时间。

Planted in huge numbers in the decades after air raids devastated² large parts of Tokyo and other cities, cherry trees usually live about 60 years before they fall prey³ to disease or they become too large for their roots.

东京等城市的大部分地区在二战空袭中毁损严重。战后几十年里，日本大量种植樱花树，而樱花树的平均寿命约为60年。之后，樱花树就容易受到病虫害威胁，或是已经长得太大，以致树根无法负载。

A survey conducted in 2013 by the Tokyo Metropolitan⁴ Government showed that 44,000 cherry trees dot the city. But an increasing number are ailing⁵ and need to be cut down, meaning that entire groves⁶ of trees that add a dash of pink to the unrelenting grey of Japan's cities may disappear.

2013年，东京都政府的一项调查显示，东京共有樱花树4.4万棵。而病树的数量却在不断增长，急需被砍伐。这就意味着，在日本城区的凝重灰底上画出一抹粉色的樱花树林最终可能会完全消失。

"Cherry trees usually live about 60 years so the ones we have in Tokyo are getting too big, are contracting diseases and are shedding branches," Kiroyuki Wada, a spokesman for the Japan Tree Doctors' Association, told The Telegraph.

“樱花树的寿命通常为60年，所以日本的这批樱花树已经长得太大了。很多树都已染病，枝杈脱落。”日本树木医会发言人和田裕之（音）对英国《每日电讯报》表示。

"They need to be replaced and the Tokyo city government has tried to do that, but they have met resistance from local residents."

“这些树需要更新换代。东京市政府曾做过尝试，却遭到当地居民的抵制。”

The local authority has attempted to carry out replacement⁷ programmes in several parts of the city, targeting trees that have raised pavements with their roots or have lost branches, but those plans have on occasions been thwarted⁸.

市政府曾尝试在东京几个地区实行更新计划，更新对象是那些树根已撑破人行道或是枝杈开始脱落的樱花树，但这些计划却不时遭到民众阻挠。