> Groundwater levels are rapidly declining around the world
全球地下水正在加速枯竭 71%的含水層系統水位下降

Many parts of the world are experiencing a rapid depletion in the subterranean reserves of water that billions of people rely on for drinking, irrigation and other uses, according to new research that analyzed millions of groundwater level measurements from 170,000 wells in more than 40 countries.
新研究顯示，全球許多地區的地下水正在快速枯竭。地下水是數十億人賴以飲用、灌溉和供應其他用途的水源。這項研究對40多個國家的17萬口井中測得的數百萬個地下水位數據進行了分析。

It’s the first study to piece together what’s happening to groundwater levels at a global scale, according to the researchers involved, and will help scientists better understand what impact humans are having on this valuable underground resource, either through overuse or indirectly by changes in rainfall linked to climate change.
研究人員指出，這是首個展現全球地下水位現狀的研究，有助于科學家更好地了解人類對這一寶貴的地下資源產生的影響。地下水減少一方面是由于人類濫用地下水，另一方面是由氣候變化引起的降雨量減少間接導致。

Groundwater, contained within cracks and pores in permeable bodies of rock known as aquifers, is a lifeline especially for people in parts of the world where rainfall and surface water are scarce, such as northwest India and the southwest United States.
儲存在可滲透的巖體中的裂縫和氣孔（也就是所謂的含水層）中的地下水是雨水和地表水稀缺地區（比如印度西北部和美國西南部）居民的生命線。

Reductions in groundwater can make it harder for people to access freshwater to drink or to irrigate crops and can result in land subsidence.
地下水的減少讓人們更難以獲得可飲用或灌溉的淡水，并可能導致地面沉降。

The authors found that groundwater levels declined between year 2000 and 2022 in 71% of the 1,693 aquifer systems included in the research, with groundwater levels declining more than 0.1 meter a year in 36%, or 617, of them.
研究者發現，2000年至2022年間研究涵蓋的1693個含水層系統有71%出現水位下降，其中36%（617個）的地下水位每年下降超0.1米。

The Ascoy-Soplamo Aquifer in Spain had the fastest rate of decline in the data they compiled — a median decline of 2.95 meters per year, said study coauthor Scott Jasechko, an associate professor at the Bren School of Environmental Science and Management at University of California Santa Barbara.
研究報告的合著者、加州大學圣塔芭芭拉分校布倫環境科學與管理學院副教授斯科特?杰斯克可指出，根據研究人員編纂的數據，西班牙的Ascoy-Soplamo含水層水位下降最快，每年下降的中位數為2.95米。

Several aquifer systems in Iran were among those with the fastest rate of groundwater decline, he added.
他補充道，伊朗的幾個含水層系統也是地下水枯竭最快的。

The team wasn’t able to gather data from much of Africa, South America and southeast Asia because of a lack of monitoring, but Jasechko said the study included the countries where most global groundwater pumping takes place.
由于監測不足，該團隊無法收集到非洲、南美洲和東南亞大部分地區的數據，但是杰斯克可表示，研究涵蓋了全球大多數開采地下水的國家。

> Industrial profits continue to improve in December
2023年工業企業利潤保持恢復態勢

Profits at China's industrial firms have extended gains for a fifth consecutive month in December, in a further sign of economic upswing.
12月，中國工業企業利潤連續5個月實現正增長，進一步表明我國經濟正在回升向好。

Data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed on Saturday that industrial enterprises with annual revenue of at least 20 million yuan ($2.8 million) saw their total profits increase 16.8 percent year-on-year in December after a 29.5 percent rise in November.
中國國家統計局1月27日公布的數據顯示，12月份，中國全國規模以上工業企業（年主營業務收入在2000萬元以上的工業企業）利潤總額同比增長16.8%，11月同比增長29.5%。

In 2023, firms of industrial firms fell 2.3 percent year-on-year to 7.69 trillion yuan, narrowing from the 4.4 percent drop in the first 11 months, the bureau said.
國家統計局的數據顯示，中國規模以上工業企業去年全年實現利潤總額7.69萬億元，比上年下降2.3%，降幅比1至11月份的4.4%收窄。

NBS statistician Yu Weining said the data point to a continued recovery trend in industrial profits, adding that more efforts should be made to consolidate the recovery trend and the promotion of high-quality development of the industry.
國家統計局工業司統計師于衛寧表示，數據表明規模以上工業企業效益持續恢復，應該進一步鞏固復蘇勢頭，推動工業經濟高質量發展。

Among the 41 major industrial sectors surveyed, 27 saw year-on-year growth in their profits in 2023.
2023年，在調查涵蓋的41個工業大類行業中，有27個行業利潤比上年增長。

Last year, profits recorded by industrial firms that offer supplies of electricity, heat, gas and water grew by 54.7 percent year-on-year, up from the 47.3 percent rise in the first 11 months.
2023年，規模以上工業企業電力、熱力、燃氣及水生產和供應業利潤比上年增長54.7%，漲幅相比1至11月份的47.3%進一步上升。

Meanwhile, profits recorded by mining firms and manufacturing companies shrank 19.7 percent and 2 percent, respectively, compared to the 18.3 percent and 4.7 percent contraction in the first 11 months.
2023年，采礦業和制造業利潤分別比上年下降19.7%和2.0%，相比之下，1至11月份采礦業和制造業利潤同比分別下降18.3%和4.7%。

Notably, profits at equipment manufacturing enterprises rose by 4.1 percent last year, up from the 2.8 percent rise in the first 11 months, NBS data showed.
值得注意的是，國家統計局數據顯示，2023年裝備制造業利潤同比增長4.1%，漲幅相比1至11月份的2.8%進一步上升。

According to a breakdown of the NBS data, State-owned firms saw earnings fall 3.4 percent year-on-year last year. Foreign firms booked a 6.7 percent decline and private-sector companies recorded a 2 percent growth.
對國家統計局數據的分析顯示，2023年，規模以上工業企業中，國有控股企業利潤同比下降3.4%，外商及港澳臺商投資企業利潤同比下降6.7%，私營企業利潤同比增長2.0%。

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