Season creep

[12] Observable changes in nature related to season creep include birds laying their eggs earlier and buds appearing on some trees in late winter.

[13] In addition to advanced budding, flowering trees have been blooming earlier, for example the culturally-important cherry blossoms in Japan,[14][15] and Washington, D.C.[16][17][18] Northern hardwood forests have been trending toward leafing out sooner, and retaining their green canopies longer.

Modeling of snowmelt predicted that warming of 3 to 5 °C in the Western United States could cause snowmelt-driven runoff to occur as much as two months earlier, with profound effects on hydroelectricity, land use, agriculture, and water management.

[38][39] The term was popularized in the media after the report titled "Season Creep: How Global Warming Is Already Affecting The World Around Us" was published by the American environmental organization Clear the Air on March 21, 2006.

[40] In the "Season Creep" report, Jonathan Banks, Policy Director for Clear the Air, introduced the term as follows: While to some, an early arrival of spring may sound good, an imbalance in the ecosystem can wreak havoc.