Some Say Climate Change Will Actually Make Spring Longer

_Elsa_

‘When it comes to what changes to the length of spring will happen because of climate change, opinions are somewhat mixed. One school of thought says that the gradual (or not so gradual) warming will make winters shorter and therefore spring will come earlier and stay longer. In this scenario, the high emissions level that is expected to warm the planet by 2.6 degrees Celsius by the year 2100 would mean that spring will arrive an average of twenty-three days earlier per year. If you hate winter and love flowers, that sounds delightful. But it also has many drawbacks. 

Lead author of the study for instance, Andrew Allstadt, said, “Our projections show that winter will be shorter — which sounds great for those of us in Wisconsin, but long distance migratory birds, for example, time their migration based on day length in their winter range. They may arrive in their breeding ground to find that the plant resources that they require are already gone.” 

It probably isn’t surprising that such a dramatic change in the length of spring would have such a large impact on the planet’s balance, but we had a moment of surprise, nonetheless. 

So, An Earlier Spring Means a Longer Spring, Right?

Not necessarily. Remember that everything is happening at once, not as individual scenarios. Spring may come earlier, but summer is likely to come earlier as well. And both summer and winter are likely to see more extreme temperatures than before. So while you may be coming out of winter sooner, you will have already likely been in a longer, colder winter than you were used to. Add longer, colder winter to a spring pattern that will ultimately be bad for food security, animal migration and the planet’s carefully balanced eco-system and this generally isn’t a win. Of course, you have to believe that climate change is actually happening for this to matter to you! 

The changing length of seasons won’t be the only impact of climate change, but it’s certainly one of those we’ll feel the most as environmentalists, which means we are traditionally people who find great inspiration and motivation in the coming of springs. Save your seeds and begin your indoor horticulture now! You don’t want to miss out on the growing season that requires a natural start to spring and a longer duration before temperatures peak, if you can.’ (Source) 

It's time for Elsa to put the computer away and go do other productive projects.

Let’s continue - Everyone is bundled up

Start at the beginning – The year that spring forgot