Redian新闻
>
How Climate Change Is Disrupting China’s Cherry Blossom Season

How Climate Change Is Disrupting China’s Cherry Blossom Season

社会

Cherry blossoms are reaching peak bloom weeks earlier than they did a few decades ago, as winter temperatures continue to rise.

Cherry blossom season is a big deal in China. When the sakura trees reach peak bloom each spring, massive crowds descend on local parks and colleges to admire the views and snap photos.

This year, the cherry blossom frenzy has been even more intense due to China’s recent decision to end strict pandemic controls. On March 12, Wuhan University opened its cherry blossom festival to the public for the first time in three years. The first 15,000 tickets sold out within minutes.

But perhaps the biggest surprise is that it was possible to see cherry blossoms in mid-March at all.

Even by recent standards, a mid-March blooming period is unusual. When the Hubei Provincial Meteorological Service Center released its forecast for this year’s cherry blossom season on March 6, it noted that Wuhan’s trees were reaching full bloom “slightly earlier” than usual. 

Yet, viewed from a longer-term perspective, the date is even more striking. Historical data shows that the trees now flower significantly earlier than they did in the past.

Xiao Yihua, a professor at Wuhan University’s School of Life Sciences, has compiled over 70 years of observation data on the university’s cherry blossoms. According to these records, cherry blossom season typically started in late March from the 1940s until the end of the 1970s. But since then, the date has been creeping forward.

Why is this happening? Tan Jing, an engineer at the Hubei Meteorological Service Center, told Sixth Tone’s sister publication The Paper that there are many factors affecting the cherry blossoms’ blooming period, including local sunshine, temperature, and precipitation levels. But temperature is the most important.

“Winter temperatures and average temperatures around 30 days before flowering have the greatest impact,” Tan said. “A warm winter will bring early flowers.”

This is in line with the findings of a study on cherry blossom flowering by Chen Zhenghong, an expert at the China Meteorological Administration. He found a link between the blooming period and the average temperature over the previous four months. Every time the average temperature during the preceding winter increases by 1 degree Celsius, the flowering date moves forward by an average of 2.9 days.

The Wuhan University data shows a similar trend. According to these records, the university’s cherry blossoms have bloomed as early as February on just two occasions: in 2004 and 2021. Those years also happened to have the hottest Februarys since records began. The temperatures in Wuhan those months were more than 5 degrees above the historical average. The latest blooming period on record, meanwhile, began on April 4, 1969 — a year when Wuhan experienced a severe cold snap.

The rising temperatures are also leading to longer blooming periods. In the 1950s, the cherry blossoms at Wuhan University typically bloomed for only around 11 days. By the 1990s, they were staying in bloom for up to two and a half weeks, or even as long as 20 days.

In his study, Chen attributed the rising winter temperatures in Wuhan to the combined effects of climate change and urbanization, which creates “urban heat islands.” These factors are also causing cherry blossoms to bloom earlier in other parts of the world.

Kyoto in Japan and Washington, D.C., in the United States are both famous for their cherry blossoms. Data from both cities shows that the blooming periods are getting earlier there, too.

Cherry blossoms, of course, are far from the only plant species being affected by climate change. Ge Quansheng, director of the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Geographical Sciences and Resources, analyzed historical observation data collected on 104 plant species at 145 sites across China between 1960 and 2011. The data showed that over 90% of plants began budding and flowering earlier during that period.

Data from the Chinese Phenology Observation Network shows a similar trend. Plants all over China — from lilacs in the northern city of Harbin, to kapok trees in the southern metropolis of Guangzhou — are flowering earlier now than in the past.

Shanghai’s official city flower, the magnolia, usually blooms in early March. But in 2019, two magnolia trees at the Shanghai Botanical Garden flowered as early as Feb. 11, a full month earlier than normal.

Reporters: Chen Liangxian and Wang Yasai 
Editors: Dominic Morgan and Luo Yahan.
(Header image: A woman poses for a photo in front of cherry blossoms in Xi’an, Shaanxi province, March 18, 2023. VCG)


Download the new Sixth Tone app at the App Store or Google Play
APK file for Android:
https://image4.sixthtone.com/pkg/sixthtone.apk
(Copy URL and open in browser)

微信扫码关注该文公众号作者

戳这里提交新闻线索和高质量文章给我们。
相关阅读
Wang Yuwen, Chronicler of China’s Workers, Has Passed AwayThe Father-Son Duo Winning Over China’s Marathon SceneLooking for Closure, a Grandson Built a Ghost in the MachineBordering on Recovery: Life on China’s Russian Frontier【Locker Room】LOL联赛?篮球全明星?Lockerroom有什么新活?童心未泯来自 Andrew Yang的问候“Change Your Clothes, Change Your Life “ 读后感The Men Who Set the Rules in Chinese TechBest Asian History Programs (Ranked in 2021)The Chinese Hotels Giving New Moms a Break — From Their In-LawsVDSR、DRRN、LapSRN、RCAN、DSRN…你都掌握了吗?一文总结超分辨率分析必备经典模型(二)How Women Are Reshaping China’s Sex Toys Industry, Literally"𝙇𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝘾𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙜𝙚"广告#创译挑战Cops Rescued Minor Forced Into Marriage, Then Sent Her Back HomeWhy China’s Truckers See Power in NumbersFor Cheap Meals, China’s Grown-Ups Take a Seat at the Kids TableTop Sports Official Removed in Soccer Corruption Crackdown斯坦福5.5万人研究:30年,男人长(cháng)了3厘米,但并非好事Two Classes in Hangzhou Suspended After COVID-19 Flare-UpMeet the Editor Pushing to Turn the Page on Women’s Literature【周末综艺会6期】打call《写在诗里的桃花》《The Peach Blossom Written in My Poetry》中日为何无法像德法一样和解送虎迎兔的年夜饭,还有初一的饺子The Story of China’s Largest Genealogy CollectionYoung Chinese Love Everything About Sweden. Except Living There.【Career Forum|4.1】Fight the Career Winter in the Tech Industry!Brokerage Apps Allowing Overseas Trading Pulled From App Stores一个李向阳就把你们吓成这个样子How Climate Whiplash Is Upending Life in Rural ChinaChinese TV Drama Sheds Light on Anti-CorruptionChinese Women Cheer Michelle Yeoh’s Oscar WinChina’s First Deaf Lawyer Beat The Odds. Now, She’s Giving Back.自己在家给车oil change,需要买car jack吗?买哪种?China’s Booming New Toy Market: Hyperrealistic ‘Military Lego’“樱花”用英语怎么说? 可不是“cherry flower”!Agustín Hernández:中美洲建筑背景下的未来主义巨构On The Table at Two Sessions, Employment, Cross-Border TradeFeminist Publisher Accused of Attempted Sexual AssaultThe Peach Blossom Written in My Poetry
logo
联系我们隐私协议©2024 redian.news
Redian新闻
Redian.news刊载任何文章,不代表同意其说法或描述,仅为提供更多信息,也不构成任何建议。文章信息的合法性及真实性由其作者负责,与Redian.news及其运营公司无关。欢迎投稿,如发现稿件侵权,或作者不愿在本网发表文章,请版权拥有者通知本网处理。