Scary Spring: Earlier Blooms Are a Sign of Climate Change

The stirrings of springtime show nature awakening. Coaxed by warming air and stronger sunlight, flowers unfurl on cherry trees and eager green buds burst forth from horse chestnuts. A little hope returns, as bees buzz and birds build nests. This year, it’s been happening a little earlier — and the reason isn’t hard to find.

In Washington DC, the city’s famous cherry trees — the originals a gift from Japan in 1912 — reached peak blossom on March 21, rather earlier than a century ago. In Kyoto, where these trees’ cousins live, records show the first blooms advancing by a week over the past century, alongside a temperature increase of more than 5 degrees Fahrenheit. Planetary warming is driving a similar trend globally, shifting the timings of not only the first leaves and flowers, but bird migrations and egg-hatchings. These changes have accelerated in the past 20 years.