Earliest cherry blossom bloom
日本迎千年最早樱花季

Cherry blossoms, also known as "sakura", which experience a "peak bloom" that only lasts a few days, have been revered in Japan for more than a thousand years.
"盛花期"只有几天的樱花一千多年来在日本备受推崇。

Crowds celebrate with viewing parties, flocking to the most popular locations to take photos and have picnics underneath the branches.
人们举办赏花会来庆祝，蜂拥到热门景点拍照，在樱花树下野餐。

But this year, cherry blossom season has come and gone in the blink of an eye, in one of the earliest blooms on record -- and scientists warn it's a symptom of the larger climate crisis threatening ecosystems everywhere.
但是今年，樱花季眨眼之间来了又去，花期前所未有地早。科学家警告说，这预示着更大规模威胁各地生态系统的气候危机即将到来。

In the central city of Kyoto, cherry blossoms peaked on March 26, the earliest in more than 1,200 years.
京都市中心的樱花在3月26日达到全盛，这是1200多年来最早的一次。

There are two sources of increased heat, which is the main factor making the flowers bloom earlier: Urbanization and climate change.
导致樱花早开的主要因素是来自城市化和气候变化两大源头的高温。

With increased urbanization, cities tend to get warmer than the surrounding rural area, in what is called the heat island effect.
随着城市化水平提高，城市的温度通常比周边乡村地区更高，这就是所谓的热岛效应。

But a bigger reason is climate change, which has caused rising temperatures across the region and the world.
但是更大的原因是导致该地区和全球气温升高的气候变化。

And these earlier dates aren't just a matter of tourists scrambling to catch peak bloom before the petals all fall -- it could have a lasting impact on entire ecosystems, and threaten the survival of many species.
樱花提早盛开不止让游客难以在花谢之前一睹盛景，而且还会对整个生态系统产生持久的影响，并威胁到许多物种的生存。