Cherry blossoms fade in Japan with climate change

Every spring, Japan is bathed in the pastel pink of cherry blossoms, attracting tourists and local people who celebrate the bloom and gather to take selfies under the trees. But now the spectacular flowers are fading, with climate change.

A new study published in in the International Journal of Biometeorology said that cherry trees, which are of enormous cultural and economic significance, and bring in billions of dollars to the country, are blooming earlier than is the norm, and in some places in Japan they do not bloom fully at all. Peak flowering of Tokyo cherry “occurs later and is less spectacular following winters with little chilling,” said the researchers. Flowering is delayed by up to 32 days at many sites, the study found.