The omnipresent threat of climate change is affecting our everyday lives, increasingly so as the years go on. With this comes rapid changes in weather patterns, increased amounts of tragic hurricanes, wildfires, and earthquakes. One of the effects of climate change that has gone understudied and not spoken of enough is the delay of fall foliage changing color. While this change is not as detrimental to our environment as others, it is still important to make light of the topic and what it means for us and our planet. 

The gradual, gradient changing of leaves from their summer greens to warmer hues was different this year. As you stepped outside, you may have noticed that by the beginning of Autumn, summer temperatures had lingered, and the leaves on our trees that would normally be varying shades of yellow, gold, and red, held on to their deep greens. This alteration in foliage changing has only increased with the years, alongside our wacky weather patterns. 

Currently, the only present threat with this development is a disappointing landscape where a once breathtaking autumnal image once was. However, if this pattern continues, severe droughts and scorching temperatures could cause leaves on trees to prematurely brown, shrivel, and drop, destroying the awe of our beautiful New England fall and causing potential threats to the ecosystem. When it comes to climate change, we must not only consider the idiosyncratic damages it causes, but apply them to a bigger picture.