When the weather forecasting groundhog Punxsutawney Phil was pulled out of the ground on Feb. 2, and didn’t see his shadow, predicting an early spring, no one imagined it would come this early.
While 70-degree weather in late February and early March may seem like a great thing, the warm weather isn’t as amazing as many people think. These off-schedule springs can have several ecological consequences.
According to The Atlantic, thanks to human-caused climate change, spring is happening about 2.5 days earlier every decade.
The effects of this are being seen all over the country. NBC4 Washington explains that as the climate warms, with May-like temperatures occurring in March, the peak blooms of the famous Washington D.C Cherry blossoms are happening early.
The Atlantic explains that some of the Cherry Blossoms in Washington D.C will flower before March 15, two and a half weeks earlier than the average.
It doesn’t end there; The Atlantic explains that because of warmer temperatures, for the first time since 1871, Chicago made it through January and February with no snow on the ground.
CBS News furthers that because of climate change, bears are beginning to come out of hibernation a month early.
This can be dangerous to humans because of bears’ resourceful nature. They are triggered to come out of hibernation before their food sources return, causing them to seek out human-related sources like pet food.
Not only are ecological impacts being seen all over the country and world, they are also being seen in GlenOak’s own horticulture program and community.
“This year with the warm temperatures our plant material is growing much faster than in cool weather springs,” Tiffany Woods, GlenOaks Horticulture Career Tech Instructor said. “For example, our pansy and viola baskets which we usually sell in late March early April were ready for sale by March 4th.”
These warm temperatures can also cause confusion and lead people to take early action when it comes to gardening.
“The biggest problem is that these warm temperatures make people think that they can plant early. If people are going to try to plant early they need to be prepared to cover or protect their plants through a cold snap. This can become expensive,” Woods said.
Whether people decide to protect their plants with frost clothes specifically made for plants, milk jugs, or pots, if there is no plan to cover plants in the cold weather, plants likely will not make it through. This adds to expenses as many people would opt to rebuy all of the plants they lost.
While it’s typical to associate Ohio with sometimes wild temperatures and weather swings throughout every season, there will still be negative changes that come from warm temperatures occurring everywhere.
“This is Ohio! We have been dealing with the swing of spring temperatures forever, however with the increase of warmer temperatures everywhere we will continue to see increased issues with insects and diseases of plants,” Woods said.
As temperatures rise early, so do problems. Woods explains the best thing for our future is for people to continue to grow home-grown fresh food and continue to spread knowledge of this to the younger generation.
