[Misc] Has Autumn come early this year?

[Mellor 3 Ward 4]

Lots of leaves down already, already significantly darker in the evenings (seems much earlier than normal.)

Or is it just me that thinks the seasons are definitely changing?

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

Lots of leaves down already, already significantly darker in the evenings (seems much earlier than normal.)

Or is it just me that thinks the seasons are definitely changing?

The leaves are down because it has been hot and dry.

As for darker earlier....no, that's not actually possible

 

[spongy]

Just feels that way due to cloud cover in the evenings last few days.

I always thought...

March-april-may = spring
June-july-august = summer
September-october-november = autumn
December-january-february = winter

It's nearly September so....

 

[Is it PotG?]

Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower - Albert Camus

 

[Green Cross Code Man]

It is a 'false autumn' caused by the drought. Many trees and shrubs have died, but before that point, they drop leaves early in a last ditch attempt to conserve water.

 

[usernamed]

Lots of leaves down already, already significantly darker in the evenings (seems much earlier than normal.)

Or is it just me that thinks the seasons are definitely changing?

Some of it is likely to be heat stress, I’ve noticed a lot of autumnal leaves early too, and a number of distressed looking trees.

To me, it feels that the seasons have changed significantly over the years, far milder winters, but the heating not reliably being able to be switched off until mid-May. All of this is my anecdotal perception, I haven’t looked to see if the stats back me up. Although I remember having to switch the heating back on in May, having been previously determined that I would not be using it.

 

[B-right-on]

No. Just normal British weather. Fickle.

 

[Swansman]

Lots of leaves down already, already significantly darker in the evenings (seems much earlier than normal.)

Or is it just me that thinks the seasons are definitely changing?

This.... is just not how it works

 

[A1X]

About time if it has. Too much summer this year.

 

[Guinness Boy]

https://www.itv.com/news/westcountr...is-why-leaves-are-falling-off-trees-in-august

 

[Neville's Breakfast]

Autumn is like Christmas. Media coverage of it gets earlier and earlier every year.

 

[Fungus]

Some people just don’t notice the cyclical patterns of nature.

The recent draught ended with the usual torrential downpour and flooding here in Truro. Next day, a woman posted a picture of the very full river in the centre of town, with the caption “What a difference a week makes”. The first reply was “what a difference every six hours make” - the river is tidal, and has been for, ooh, several years probably.

Mind you, if it keeps on raining, the river will soon reach all the way to France.

 

[Peteinblack]

As others have rightly said, the early brown leaves are due to the recent exceptional heat and lack of rain, rather than the usual autumn changes of colour or leaf drop.

The nights are drawing in more quickly, sometimes by a couple of minutes each day, but this is normal for this time of year. It seems even earlier, though, because of the cloud cover of recent evenings, which has added to the sense of darkness and gloom.

The main change I have noticed over the years is the early ripening of blackberries. When I were a lad in Lancing, I'd go blackberry picking in October; now I go in late July/early August.

I hate the end of summer - 5-6 months of cold, darkness and rain ahead, and often being stuck indoors at weekends, rather than out in the garden. I quite envy animals which hibernate and sleep through winter!

 

[Marty McFly]

Felt the same yesterday. 8-10c cooler than most of summer, early darkness (I was surprised to see it dark at 8pm. I have to lock our chicken coop up at sunset, so bad timekeeping was a faux pas here), and a lot of rain. Sadly the summer temps are returning today, but I'm looking forward to proper autumn and the lack of mosquitoes, black flies, deerflies and horseflies so I can enjoy rides, runs and hikes without being bitten to death.

 

[Eeyore]

September is a lovely month in the UK. Very underrated.

 

[Arthur]

Blackberries were out very early this year. Doesn't the old wives tale suggest that means a long and cold winter?

 

[Neville's Breakfast]

September is a lovely month in the UK. Very underrated.

Yep, often the best month of the year. We’ve had mostly rain in August here apart from those two or three very hot days. We have a weekend in Wales booked in September when we hope the weather to be a lot more pleasant.

 

[Bodian]

As others have rightly said, the early brown leaves are due to the recent exceptional heat and lack of rain, rather than the usual autumn changes of colour or leaf drop.

The nights are drawing in more quickly, sometimes by a couple of minutes each day, but this is normal for this time of year. It seems even earlier, though, because of the cloud cover of recent evenings, which has added to the sense of darkness and gloom.

The main change I have noticed over the years is the early ripening of blackberries. When I were a lad in Lancing, I'd go blackberry picking in October; now I go in late July/early August.

I hate the end of summer - 5-6 months of cold, darkness and rain ahead, and often being stuck indoors at weekends, rather than out in the garden. I quite envy animals which hibernate and sleep through winter!

I fully agree about the blackberries. Picked our first decent crop about three weeks ago - which I really cannot remember ever doing before. We've also been feeling as though autumn is coming along earlier this year, and we've had none of the drought issues you have had down south. I'm wondering if it's because of the mild winter, which led to an earlier flowering season - and so things are just naturally reaching the end of their annual lifespan a little earlier. So, it feels like autumn, but it's not actually so?

Having said that - we have definitely noticed the geese on the move some weeks ago, which doesn't normally happen until September.

 

[AmexRuislip]

The majority of our produce on the allotment has come early, due to the weather.
So beds empty earlier, when they should be full of green stuff.
Composting earlier I guess.

 

[schmunk]

I picked some large fully-ripe blackberries at my parents' house in Ferring on 16 July, which I thought REALLY early. It was very notable on holiday in Cornwall this month how small and unripe the fruits were there, following the drought.