By: Hannah Saez-Zadoof
If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant. This popular saying by Anne Bradstreet encompasses the feelings of when spring finally blooms after a long, hard winter. While it may feel like we are in an eternal cycle of seasons, going from warm highs to frigid lows, things are actually changing.
Across the globe, climate change has affected the seasons in many ways, one of the most prominent changes being higher temperatures year-round. As climate change brings warmer winters, America’s spring growing season lasts longer. In fact, the season’s length has grown by over two weeks in the past century. These warmer temperatures occurring earlier have affected farms all across America.
The frost-free season, defined as the period between the final occurrence of 32℉ in the spring and the first occurrence of 32℉ in the fall, determines the length of the growing season. In the contiguous 48 states, as well as Alaska, the frost-free season has grown, causing “drier conditions and higher temperatures.” This will affect plant growth and may lead to farmers needing to experiment with alternate methods of crop growing to accommodate the changing environment.
But what will happen if climate change is allowed to continue unchecked? Among the consequences of this new trend are: the earlier arrival of allergy season, likely higher consistency of droughts in the US, less water accessible from mountaintops, more pest issues in agriculture, and loss of pollinators like bees and butterflies.
One example of an annual tradition put at risk by changing seasons is the famous Washington D.C. cherry blossoms. The pink flowers are blooming earlier in the year, altering the time the annual festival begins and potentially harming the city’s tourism. DC’s beautiful cherry trees are also at risk of being weakened by the nearby Tidal Basin’s flooding, an effect of rising sea levels.
Spring is cherished by many as a season of renewal, marking nature’s rebirth after the harsh winter months. But if climate change continues unchecked and alters the character of the season, will it still hold the same place in our hearts?
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The Fieldston Science Bulletin 
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