the elements

Reader's Digest 2月号の記事 After It All Fell ApartはApril 25, 2015にNepalを襲った地震の話です。
As the next morning dawned, Ishwor and the other cares worked quickly to build makeshift tents using plastic sheeting hung over wooden poles to protect the children from the elements. Finding fresh water, food and medical supplies was difficult.
上に出てきた "" は以前何かの記事で読んだ覚えがありますが、私のブログで取り上げた記録がないので復習を兼ねて今回取り上げます。
・Oxford English Dictionary: The weather, especially strong winds, heavy rain, and other kinds of bad weather: there was no barrier against the elements
・Vocabulary.com: When you expose furniture to the elements - the harsh forces of the weather such as wind and rain - it often fades and begins to look worn.
The phrase, the elements, has been used to describe the severe forces of weather since the 1500s and occurs with language that brings to mind the war between man and nature. If you brave the elements, you go out and do things regardless of the harsh weather. Rock climbers, with gear that can withstand the elements, sometimes have to battle the elements in order to reach the summit. In a less aggressive context, the elements in the field of chemistry refer to the substances on the periodic table, including metals such as gold and copper and as gases such as hydrogen and helium.