Cherry blossoms may not bloom
The cherry blossoms this spring were early.
In Tokyo, the Somei Yoshino cherry tree at Yasukuni Shrine is a specimen tree, but it is 9 days earlier than normal and 5 days earlier than last year.
On March 22, while a large number of spectators watched, the staff of the Tokyo Regional Meteorological Observatory inspected the blooming of the flowers and declared them in full bloom.
It was reported on the news.
Not so long ago, flower rafts in a blizzard of cherry blossoms could be seen at entrance ceremonies, often held in early April.
I think it was a sight, but recently, it seems that the cherry blossoms bloom too early, and they are already in full bloom around the time of the graduation ceremony.
It seems that the pattern of cherry blossoms almost dispersing in early April and turning into cherry blossoms has increased.
It is said that the impact of global warming is large as to why this happened, but in addition, heat islands in the city center
Since there is also a phenomenon, it seems that the temperature is even higher and the cherry blossoms are blooming earlier.
That said, it’s not as simple as cherry blossoms blooming early because it’s a warm winter.
In fact, there are various conditions for cherry blossoms to bloom smoothly.
After the spring flower falls, flower buds for the next spring are created during the hot summer.
In autumn, when a cool breeze begins to blow and the leaves fall, the flower buds once enter “dormancy” and stop growing,
Around January ~ February, they wake up from exposure to the severe cold of midwinter and start preparing for flowering for spring.
This is called “dormancy breaking.”
In March, as the temperature begins to rise, flower buds grow. And with full satisfaction, the bud
It’s fraying.
In this way, cherry blossoms sense the change of seasons due to changes in temperature, and live a one-year cycle.
In other words, if you are not stimulated by “severe cold” for a certain period of time in winter, it will wake up properly and bloom.
Therefore, if the warm winter continues, it will cause flowering to be delayed.
I think it was cold in Matomo this winter.
・・・ In the past few years, it has been a strangely lukewarm winter, so it is the first time in a long time that I have tasted “winter”.
Are.
But the temperature rose too quickly after that.
It is unique to this time of year that the temperature fluctuates, but in early March, the days suddenly exceed 20°C for many days.
It’s a bit abnormal.
For example, if you look at the records of what the temperature was like in Tokyo 20 years ago in March 2003, you can see that until the beginning and middle of the month,
Most days the maximum temperature is around 10°C.
It exceeded 19°C for the first time on the 24th and then rose rapidly.
By the way, in 2003, cherry blossoms bloomed in Tokyo on March 27.
Even earlier, in the 1990s, early April was the norm.
But this year, the cold had already eased at the end of February, and the early summer sunshine was in the air at the beginning of March.
Sakura must have been surprised too.
I hurriedly swelled the flower buds, and on March 14th, Tokyo was the first in Japan to bloom.
Even so, it is good because it is still blooming well.
In any case, if the global warming continues and the cold of winter becomes even sweeter, cherry blossoms will be → “autumn” to “winter”.
I can’t feel the transition, and I mistake it for “autumn” for a long time, and I continue to sleep in a coma.
They say it will happen.
Sakura Sleeping Princess is cute, though. Can you imagine spring without cherry blossoms?
The four seasons of spring, summer, autumn, and winter are Japan where the change of seasons is clear, but cherry blossoms are exactly in such a Japan climate.
It is a tree that was born.
However, it seems that the rhythm is starting to be upset due to climate change in recent years, and I heard that while flowering tends to be earlier in the Kanto region, on the contrary, it tends to be later in Kyushu.
Among them, “cherry blossoms that do not bloom”, “cherry blossoms that bloom madly out of season”, and “cherry blossoms that continue to bloom halfway all year round” are expected to appear.
It will be exciting to continue to bloom all year round, but it is the cherry blossoms that are crazy and pitiful.
Naturally, the condition of crazy blooming flowers should not be good to look at.
I can only hope that the spring tradition of Japan will not disappear when it shines against the blue sky, whether it is wet in the pouring rain, or when you admire the beautiful cherry blossoms.
By Admin|2023-03-31|2023,News Release|