My mother commented yesterday that it almost feels like Fall is arriving early. She noted the temperatures are not as hot as they usually are in August and that it cools off more at night. She pointed to the fact that June was much hotter than we are used to (we usually call the overcast weather "June gloom"), as was July, almost as if June and July were more like previous Augusts and Septembers.
Climate scientists say Spring is arriving earlier around the world, changing the nesting habits of birds and endangering many species which depend on the predictablility of the seasons. The polar bear, for one, emerges from hibernation dependent on the presence of the ice to hunt for fish in the Arctic waters. Now, with the ice melting earlier and earlier, the polar bears are starving.
Of course, it is always dangerous to speak too soon. The temperature in Southern California could creep up again and we might end up having a sizzling September, but on the other hand there may be something to what my mother is sensing.
When something that was an observation of scientists starts being noticed by ordinary mothers and grandmothers, maybe we'll start taking it more seriously.
