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Wheat is planted in October, and springtime is a critical period for the crop to reach its potential before the summer harvest.
10月份种植小麦，而春季是小麦在夏季收获之前发挥潜力的关键时期。
Excessive heat – including an expected surge of up to 100 degrees this week in France – has caused concerns about reduced output or that some grains simply won’t sprout.
过高的气温——包括法国本周预计气温最高可达100华氏度——引起了人们对谷物产量下降或一些谷物根本无法发芽的担忧。
Due to climate change, weather patterns have become increasingly unpredictable, with fewer weather rotations – be it cold, heat, or rain – as time goes on.
由于气候变化，天气模式变得越来越不可预测，随着时间的推移，天气轮换--无论是寒冷、炎热还是降雨--减少了。
Unlike their counterparts in the United States, French farmers rarely use irrigation methods, and instead rely on “crops that are historically successful and adapted to the local soil,” says Mr. Lefort.
勒福特说，与美国的农民不同，法国农民很少使用灌溉措施，而是依赖“历史上成功的、适应当地土壤的作物”。
But that means they’re completely reliant on the weather for successful growth.
但这意味着作物完全依赖天气才能成功生长。
The French government announced at the end of April that water companies could spend an additional 100 million pounds (104 million dollars) to help farmers create new reservoirs.
法国政府在4月底宣布，水务公司可以额外支出1亿英镑(1.04亿美元)，帮助农民建造新的水库。
The measure has been lauded by farmers, but it is still seen as a band-aid solution.
这项措施受到了农民的赞扬，但仍被视为一种权宜之计。
In the midst of the drought in France and western Europe is the Ukraine war.
处于法国和西欧干旱之中的是乌克兰战争。
Ukraine is the world’s fifth largest exporter of wheat, and Russia’s blockade of Ukraine’s Black Sea ports risks heightening a global food crisis.
乌克兰是全球第五大小麦出口国，俄罗斯封锁乌克兰黑海港口有加剧全球粮食危机的风险。
Meanwhile, India – the world’s second largest wheat exporter – has banned all wheat exports after a succession of scorching 120 degrees Fahrenheit days has caused fears that it won’t be able to feed its population.
与此同时，世界第二大小麦出口国印度已经禁止所有小麦出口，此前连续120华氏度的高温天气导致人们担心印度无法养活其人口。
The combined effect has caused panic on the international grains market.
这一综合效应已经在国际谷物市场引起了恐慌。
In Chicago, the international benchmark, wheat prices spiked to $12.68 per half bushel in mid-May, a 60% jump this year.
在芝加哥，作为国际基准的小麦价格在5月中旬飙升至每半蒲式耳12.68美元，今年以来上涨了60%。
S&P Global estimates that Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, and Tunisia will be the hardest hit economically due to their high levels of food and energy imports and their reliance on grains from Ukraine and Russia.
标准普尔全球公司估计，埃及、约旦、黎巴嫩、摩洛哥和突尼斯将受到最严重的经济打击，因为它们的粮食和能源进口水平很高，而且依赖来自乌克兰和俄罗斯的谷物。
Morocco imports 33% from France, 32% from Ukraine, and 17% from Russia.
摩洛哥从法国进口33%，从乌克兰进口32%，从俄罗斯进口17%。
Egypt, meanwhile, is the world’s largest wheat importer, getting around 85% from Russia and Ukraine.
与此同时，埃及是世界上最大的小麦进口国，从俄罗斯和乌克兰进口了约85%的小麦。
“The Ukrainian-Russian export supply is so important that even without the drought, France would not be able to replace that,” says Omar Bessaoud, a professor of agricultural economics at CIHEAM-Montpellier.
蒙彼利埃大学农业经济学教授奥马尔·贝萨乌德表示：“乌克兰和俄罗斯的出口供应是如此重要，即使没有旱灾，法国也无法取代这种供应。”
Experts worry that the high prices of wheat could trigger sociopolitical instability, as they did with the bread riots in Morocco and Egypt in 1977.
专家担心，小麦的高价格可能会引发社会政治不稳定，就像1977年摩洛哥和埃及发生的面包骚乱一样。
