On the last day of October this year I took this picture of an oak tree in a London Park. Oaks usually seem to be among the first trees to shed their leaves, but the autumn has been gently with no frost and little wind, so the mighty oak has most of its leaves still green. Its leaves will turn and fall over the next few weeks.
When I was young by November 5th all the trees had lost their leaves and the bonfires we made could be filled with dead wood fallen from trees, if there were any trees where you lived.
Have the seasons really changed in character or have they merely changed in my memory? Summer seems to linger longer now, and the trees seem to hold their leaves longer.
When I was a child we celebrated Guy Fawkes Night on the 5th of November each year. Then it was not a moveable feast, as it seems to be these days. That was a time of year for coats scarves and gloves because it was bitterly cold. Today in London I do not need a coat or a scarf or gloves, and so it has been for some years.
For me, this is evidence of a changing climate.
Filed under: climate change, global warming | Tagged: 5th November, Gut Fawkes Night, oak tree
There are two sides to every story, please have a listen to this guy before we make any firm decissions.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6493532241415881012#
Also google Iron mountain story for another view on a similar plain, lots of hints and tips.
In Richmond north yorkshire it is now approaching freezing, yesterday morning was white with frost and the mean temp for this time of year around here is only a half degree warmer than this time last year, a neighbour has been doing detailed recordings for 25 plus years
She says that the overall average temp has actually cooled down and there is now many less days of sunlight year on year because of pollution, I would trust this persons data over the governments and can we can proove it as evidence, she send in the information every month to a weather society sceme.