The world likely notched its warmest February on record, as spring-like conditions caused flowers to bloom early from Japan to Mexico, left ski slopes bald of snow in Europe and pushed temperatures to 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 C) in Texas. While data has not been finalised, three scientists told Reuters that February is on track to have the highest global average temperature ever recorded for that month, thanks to climate change and the warming in the Eastern Pacific Ocean known as El Nino. FILE PHOTO: Graciela Perez blows a hand fan amid a heat wave with temperatures rising towards 35 degrees Celsius (95F), in Buenos Aires, Argentina February 7, 2024. REUTERS/Mariana Nedelcu If confirmed, that would be the ninth consecutive monthly temperature record to be broken, according to ...
Read MoreTag: early spring
Every spring, the streets of Mexico's capital are painted purple with the flowering of thousands of jacaranda trees. Their spectacular colors not only attract the eyes of residents and tourists, but also birds, bees and butterflies that find food and shelter in them. But this year something changed. Some jacarandas began blooming in early January, when they normally awaken in spring. The early onset bloom has set off alarm bells among residents and scientists in Mexico City, where the trees have become an iconic, photogenic mainstay of city streets. Local scientists have begun investigating how widespread the early-bloom phenomenon is, but they point to climate change as the first culprit. People walk near a jacaranda tree at Plaza Cibeles in Mexico City, Mexico. February 22, ...
Read MoreRain or shine, there is no way to keep budding flowers down. From the world-famous Keukenhof garden in the Netherlands to the magical bluebell Hallerbos forest in Belgium, they are out there again, almost on cue to enthrall, enthuse and soothe the mind. All despite the cold and miserable early spring in this part of Western Europe. The beauty is not lost on tens of thousands of visitors thronging the pathways through the riot of color and fragrances. And if the COVID-19 pandemic left the sights eerily deserted for a few years, the challenge now has become how to manage the masses. In a long exposure zoom effect, bluebells, also known as wild hyacinth, bloom in the Hallerbos forest in Halle, Belgium, on Monday, April 17, 2023. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo) At the Keukenhof, one of t...
Read MoreGlobal warming is turning wildlife habits upside down The early bird is getting even earlier. With climate change spurring earlier springs across much of North America, many birds are laying their eggs earlier in the year, according to a new study – adding to mounting evidence that global warming is turning wildlife habits upside down. Of 72 bird species examined around Chicago, roughly a third lay their eggs about 25 days earlier than they did a century ago, researchers report in the paper published on Friday in the Journal of Animal Ecology. FILE PHOTO: A flock of blackbirds search for trees to perch on in the town on Hopkinsville, Kentucky. REUTERS/Harrison McClary Those affected include the mourning dove, American kestrel and Cooper's hawk. The scientists so far have...
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