Traditional ideas of seasons may no longer make sense in a changing climate, a study has suggested. The annual pattern of temperature changes along with the lengthening and shortening of daylight hours have marked out the seasons for centuries.
A new study from experts at the University of York and the London School of Economics argues that disruption to the climate is altering our planet’s annual rhythms so much that our experiences of the seasons are becoming disconnected from how they are usually viewed.
The researchers point to other studies which show summers getting longer and hotter, winters growing warmer but not lasting as long and spring starting earlier in the year.
They put forward four seasons not meant to replace spring, summer, autumn and winter, but to aid understanding of human-driven changes.
The first is “emergent seasons” in which new seasonal patterns emerge when human activity interacts with cycles in the atmosphere and ocean, triggering “often hazardous seasons”.
Next is “extinct seasons” where a season is permanently lost. The experts point to the eventual loss of winter sports as snow disappears from mountain resorts.
“Syncopated seasons” are defined as those where an existing season’s characteristics get stronger or weaker.
This would refer to hotter summers, milder winters and fiercer wildfire seasons in the north of Europe.
“Arrhythmic seasons” are defined as those where abnormal fluctuations impact the timing of environmental phenomena, such as shorter winters.
The study’s authors argue that understanding new concepts of the seasons can help societies prepare for environmental hazards.
They also consider how public support for measures to address climate change can be influenced by awareness of shifts in the seasons.