Spring arrives earlier than ever recorded in southern US – adding to climate trend

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/mar/06/spring-arrival-earliest-record-southern-us-climate-crisis

Cassidy Randall
Fri 6 Mar 2020 06.00 EST
Last modified on Fri 6 Mar 2020 10.10 EST

Across the south-eastern US, trees are unfurling their clouds of leaves after winter. Yet this picturesque and usually welcome development is this year cause for consternation.

New data from the USA National Phenology Network (USA-NPN) shows that in parts of North Carolina, South Carolina and northern Florida, spring has arrived more than three weeks earlier than average, and earlier than at any point in the last 39 years it has been tracked.

The south-eastern US has historically experienced a large amount of variability in the onset of spring, so it is hard to say the climate crisis is directly responsible. Yet this year’s premature spring is part of a trend of rising temperatures and early leaf emergence that scientists have observed in recent years.

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Because plants and animals take their cues in part from seasonal rise of temperatures, warming springs can cause plants to bloom earlier, alter hibernation times and locations for migrating animals, and increase some insect populations. Plants blooming before their pollinators are available or aggressive seasonal insect populations can threaten agricultural yields and drive up food prices. And because the weather is still volatile at this time of year, subsequent cold temperatures can damage flowers and fruits.

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