BBC Science Focus

Does a hot summer trigger an early autumn?

- ANTHONY JONES, LV

Fruits and berries that we normally associate with autumn can ripen early during a hot summer. But there are other autumnal changes that are unaffected or even slowed by a long, hot summer. Leaves won’t lose their green colour until the nights start to get chilly, because cold temperatur­es are needed to break down the chlorophyl­l pigment. Also, birds decide when to migrate south for the winter by the shortening day length, not the weather.

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