Sixty degrees in early March may sound like good news if it’s typical to wear parkas right now where you live. Indeed, as University of Arizona plant ecologist Theresa Crimmins explains, spring is arriving earlier in lots of places, thanks to climate change. And that’s causing a lot of problems.

“Across the United States and worldwide, climate change is steadily disrupting the arrival and interactions of leaf buds, cherry blossoms, insects and more,” Crimmins writes. That can lead to crop failures, earlier allergy seasons and many other disconnects with serious ecological consequences.

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Yellow trout lily flowers nearly a week earlier now than in previous decades in the Appalachian Mountains. Katja Schulz/Wikipedia

Spring is arriving earlier across the US, and that’s not always good news

Theresa Crimmins, University of Arizona

Climate change has advanced the arrival of spring by as much as several weeks in some parts of the US. This can mean major crop losses and disconnects between species that need each other to thrive.

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  • There’s no easy exit for the US in Afghanistan

    Madhav Joshi, University of Notre Dame

    The US is taking an untraditional approach in its peace talks with the Taliban. The new deal does not contain many of the elements that are typically key to a successful peace negotiation.

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