ustralia's Prime Minister Scott Morrison has expressed regret over his handling of the bushfire crisis ravaging¹ the country.

澳大利亚总理斯科特·莫里森近日为自己处理肆虐全国的森林大火不力致歉。

The PM has faced mounting criticism over his government's response to the bushfires and its climate policy.

莫里森政府对森林大火的应对和气候政策遭到越来越多的批评。

Since September, bushfires have killed at least 28 people and destroyed thousands of homes.

自去年9月以来，澳大利亚森林大火已造成至少28人死亡，数千座房屋被毁。

On Sunday, Mr Morrison conceded there were "things I could have handled on the ground much better".

周日（1月12日），莫里森承认，“有些事我可以在现场处理得更好”。

In recent weeks, Mr Morrison has been heckled by locals when visiting fire-hit communities in the states of New South Wales and Victoria, where the worst blazes are concentrated.

最近几周，莫里森在走访新南威尔士州和维多利亚州的受灾区时，遭到了当地人的激烈质问。新南威尔士州和维多利亚州是此次大火的重灾区。

In the town of Cobargo in New South Wales, one woman demanded more resources for the fire service, while others called Mr Morrison an "idiot" and said "you won't be getting any votes down here".

在新南威尔士州的科巴戈镇，一名妇女要求为消防部门提供更多的资源，而其他人则称莫里森是“白痴”，并表示“你在这里得不到任何选票”。

"These are sensitive environments, they are very emotional environments," Mr Morrison said in a TV interview with ABC.

莫里森在接受澳大利亚广播公司电视采访时表示：“这些地方的人们很敏感，很情绪化。”

Acknowledging the pressure fire services were facing, Mr Morrison said there was a "new appetite" for the government to take a more direct role in responding to the disaster.

莫里森承认消防部门面临的压力，他表示，政府有“新的意愿”更直接地参与灾难应对。

The PM said he would seek a royal commission review - a type of public inquiry² - into the country's response to the bushfire crisis.

莫里森说，他将请皇家委员会公开调查国家对森林大火危机的应对。

Last month, Mr Morrison was criticised for going on holiday to Hawaii as the bushfire crisis worsened. The rising public anger at his absence eventually forced him to cut that trip short.

上个月，就在森林大火危机恶化时，莫里森前往夏威夷度假，因而受到批评。公众对他的缺席越来越愤怒，最终迫使他缩短了行程。

Mr Morrison's government has been accused of not doing enough to address climate change, which experts say could increase the intensity³, frequency and scale of bushfires.

莫里森政府被指责在应对气候变化方面做得不够，专家称这可能会增加森林火灾的强度、频率和规模。

But in the interview, the PM defended his government's approach, which he said took into account the effect of climate change on the bushfires.

但在采访中，莫里森为政府的做法辩护，他说，他考虑了气候变化对森林大火的影响。

"We're living in longer, hotter, drier summers," the PM said. "This is obviously affected⁴ by the broader changes in climate."“现在的夏季更长、更热、更干燥”，他说，“这显然受到了更广泛的气候变化的影响。”

Pressed on his plan to reduce carbon emissions⁵, Mr Morrison insisted his government was on track to "meet and beat" its targets.

在被追问减少碳排放的计划时，莫里森坚称，政府正在“实现并超越”其目标。

Under the Paris climate agreement, Australia has pledged to cut emissions by 26% to 28% by 2030 compared to 2005 levels.

根据《巴黎气候协定》，澳大利亚承诺到2030年将碳排放量在2005年的基础上削减26%至28%。

However, Mr Morrison said a "global solution" was needed to tackle climate change.

然而，莫里森表示，应对气候变化需要一个“全球解决方案”。

Tens of thousands of people across Australia took part in climate change protests on Friday.

周五（1月10日），成千上万的澳大利亚人参加了气候变化抗议活动。

In cities including Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra, demonstrators turned out to press Mr Morrison's government to make a quick transition away from fossil fuels.

在悉尼、墨尔本和堪培拉等城市，示威者走上街头，向莫里森政府施压，要求其尽快出台摆脱对化石燃料依赖的政策。

Each year there is a fire season during the Australian summer, with hot, dry weather making it easy for blazes to start and spread.

在澳大利亚的夏季，每年都有一个火灾季节，炎热干燥的天气致使火灾很容易发生和蔓延。

Natural causes are to blame most of the time, like lightning strikes in drought-affected forests. Dry lightning was responsible for starting a number of fires in Victoria's East Gippsland region in late December, which then traveled more than 20 kilometers in just five hours, according to state agency Victoria Emergency.

大多数情况下，自然原因是罪魁祸首，比如受干旱影响的森林被闪电击中。据维多利亚州紧急情况部门称，去年12月下旬，风暴闪电导致该州东吉普斯兰地区发生多起火灾，在短短5小时内蔓延了20多公里。

Humans can also be to blame. NSW police have charged at least 24 people with deliberately⁶ starting bushfires, and have taken legal action against 183 people for fire-related offenses⁷ since November, according to a police statement.

人类也有责任。据新南威尔士州警方的一份声明，自去年11月以来，该州警方已起诉至少24人蓄意纵火，并对183人的火灾相关犯罪行为采取法律措施。

Bushfire conditions eased on Saturday, giving firefighters temporary respite⁸ in areas where blazes are still raging.

周六（1月11日），火势有所缓解，让仍在救灾地区的消防员有了暂时喘息的机会。

But with more hot weather expected next week, the risk was far from over, authorities warned.

但有关部门警告说，由于预计下周还会有更多的高温天气，风险远未消失。

Authorities have warned that the huge fires, spurred by high temperatures, wind and a three-year-drought, will persist until there is substantial rainfall.

当局警告说，由高温、大风和三年干旱引发的大火将一直持续，直到大量降雨来临。

More than 123 fires are still burning across New South Wales, with 50 said to be uncontained.

新南威尔士州有超过123处大火仍在燃烧，其中50处仍未得到控制。

According to NSW Rural Fire Service, more than 2,000 homes have been destroyed so far during this fire season.

据新南威尔士州乡村消防局称，到目前为止，已经有2000多所房屋被大火烧毁。

In Victoria, there were 32 bushfire warnings in place as of Saturday. A firefighter died while tackling a blaze in the state on Saturday, bringing the death toll⁹ from this season's bushfires to 28.

截至周六（1月11日），维多利亚州已经发布了32个森林火灾预警。当日，一名消防员在该州灭火时死亡，使得本季森林大火死亡人数达到28人。

About half a billion animals have been affected by the fires across NSW, with millions likely dead -- and that's a conservative estimate. That number of total animals affected could be as high as one billion nationwide, according to ecologists from the University of Sydney.

据保守估计，新南威尔士州约有五亿只动物受到火灾影响，数百万只动物或已死亡。据悉尼大学的生态学家说，全国受影响的动物总数可能高达10亿。

The figures for NSW include birds, reptiles¹⁰, and mammals, except bats. It also excludes insects and frogs, so the real sum is almost certain to be higher, the ecologists said.

新南威尔士州的数据包括鸟类、爬行动物和哺乳动物，但蝙蝠除外。生态学家说，这个数字还不包括昆虫和青蛙，所以实际的数字几乎肯定会更高。

Almost a third of koalas in NSW may have been killed in the fires, and a third of their habitat has been destroyed, said Federal Environment Minister Sussan Ley.

澳大利亚环境部长苏珊·雷表示，新南威尔士州近三分之一的考拉可能在大火中丧生，三分之一的栖息地也遭到破坏。

Some species, like koalas, aren't in any immediate¹¹ danger of extinction¹² because they are spread out across the country, said the university ecologists. But others that live in more niche¹³ environments with lower populations, including certain types of frogs and birds, could be wiped out entirely¹⁴ if their habitats are hit by the fires.

悉尼大学的生态学家说，考拉等物种不会马上灭绝，因为它们分布在全国各地。但其他生活范围更小、种群数量更少的动物，包括某些种类的青蛙和鸟类，如果它们的栖息地受到火灾的侵袭，可能会彻底灭绝。