Climate change on the planet could alter nature's annual rhythms so much that traditional notions of the seasons are becoming irrelevant. Geographers from the University of York and the London School of Economics said that modern weather patterns are increasingly out of sync with the seasonal expectations we are used to.
This does not mean that the Earth's position in space has changed or that temperature fluctuations have stopped. It is that human activity has affected the climate so much that the cultural and everyday perception of the seasons no longer coincides with what is actually happening.
Researchers believe that humanity needs to perceive seasonality differently. They propose a new typology that takes into account modern climate changes. Among such types are new seasonal patterns that were not previously recorded in certain regions, the disappearance or strong transformation of familiar seasons, disruptions in the timing of their onset and duration, as well as instability in the very characteristics of each period of the year.
All of this is already evident in everyday life. Summers are getting longer and hotter, winters are getting shorter and milder, and springs are coming earlier. In some parts of the world, hurricane or fire seasons are stretching out for most of the year, becoming a constant threat.
Such changes indicate that the seasonality that has defined the rhythm of life on the planet for centuries is beginning to take on new forms. In the future, this may require a revision not only of scientific approaches, but also of the way we live.
