False Spring Visits Britain

We've got April in Paris, and more songs about spring than we'll ever need. But, as the strange British weather is proving, we need more songs about spring in November.

The daffodils are blooming beneath the autumn leaves, according to the Daily Telegraph. The crab apples are in bloom.

It might not make the cut in lyrics, but scientists describe the timing of natural phenomena as phenology. With global warming, natural events that are normally synced fall into disharmony. Those crab apple blossoms won't likely be pollinated, nor will they bear fruit.

In the case of a few daffodils popping up out of season, the consequences aren't severe. Certain wildlife, however, like migratory birds, rely on the emergence of particular insects or blossoms that are synced with their arrivals and departures. It's an intimate dance, choreographed over thousands of generations, and the changes may come to quickly to keep in step.

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