Shop BySpring In 2024 Comes Too Early, Again!
Have you noticed flowers blooming earlier than usual? It's not just in your backyard - it's happening all over Australia!
Australia's Annual Mean Temperature Anomaly
Data source:Australian Bureau of Meteorology, 2024
What's Going On?
In different parts of Australia, flowers are blooming way too early. In Cranbourne, near Melbourne, kangaroo paw flowers showed up in July instead of September. Mandy Thomson, who works at the Royal Botanic Gardens there, says:
"I've noticed birds and insects [appearing] because of all of the flowers. New Holland honeyeaters and wattle birds and little fairy wrens everywhere, it's really lovely."
Even though it sounds nice, it's actually a bit strange and worrying.
Why Is This Happening?
The main reason for this early spring is that the Earth is getting warmer. Scientists call this global heating. Winters are getting shorter and less cold, so plants are blooming earlier.
Chris Cole, who works at a garden in Sydney, explains:
"Our daisy display has started to pop, and it normally pops [in] at least the first week of spring."
But now, it's happening weeks earlier!
Is This Normal?
Scientists who study plants and weather say this isn't just happening once in a while. It's becoming more common every year. Professor Brett Summerell, a plant expert in Sydney, says people often ask him if spring is coming early:
"Most years, it's been just imagining but, certainly, last year and this year it's been more than just imagining."
This means it's really happening, not just in people's minds.
What Does This Mean?
These early blooms show that our planet is changing. Australia is now much warmer than it was about 100 years ago. This might seem nice at first - who doesn't love seeing flowers? But it can confuse plants and animals who rely on regular seasons.
How Should We Feel About This?
Seeing early spring flowers can make people happy. But when we think about why it's happening, it might make us a bit sad too. It reminds us that climate change is affecting everything around us, even the things we enjoy.
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