Japan's red leaves are forecast to be significantly delayed due to global warming

Maple viewing in Japan is one of the popular tourist activities. Lin De'en, a doctor of atmospheric sciences at National Taiwan University, said that due to global warming and the El Niño phenomenon, the Japan Meteorological Association released the latest "Red Leaves Seeing Expectation" on October 1, pointing out that this year's maple redness in Japan will be "delayed" overall, and posted a guide to recommending maple viewing.

Lin De'en posted on the Facebook fan page "Teacher Lin Weather Station" that Japan's red maples will be relatively late this year. Due to global warming and the El Niño phenomenon, the Japan Meteorological Association released the latest "red leaves forecast" on October 1. It pointed out that this year's maple reds in Japan will generally have a "delayed" trend, especially in the flatlands of eastern Japan and western Japan; while in northern Japan and high mountain areas, there will be a normal or early trend.

Please read on...

Lin Deen pointed out that the main reason is that when the temperature is high in autumn, the time when the maple leaves start to change color will also be delayed. Usually, the redness of maple leaves does not simply "start red in October", but is closely related to the accumulation of low temperatures in autumn. According to statistics, the lower the temperature in autumn (September to November), the earlier the red leaves will appear; the higher the temperature, the later the red leaves will follow. In the second half of September this year, the temperature across Japan was significantly higher, and it is expected that it will still be warmer in the future from October to November. This has also caused the cooling rate in mid- and low-altitude areas (especially the flatlands) to be slow, so the overall time for red leaves has been delayed.

Lin De'en continued: Therefore, if it is the most popular cherry blossom viewing destinations for tourists from Taiwan, such as Tokyo, Mount Fuji, Kyoto, Osaka, Nagoya, Fukuoka, Sendai or Nara, this year you must be especially careful not to arrange maple viewing activities exactly according to the dates of previous years. It is recommended that you consider delaying the trip by 5 to 10 days.

Lin Deen bluntly said that the best time to view red maples in mountainous areas in northern Japan is expected to be from late September to mid-November; in flat areas, the time is later, and the best time is expected to be from mid-October to late November; in eastern and western Japan, in mountainous areas, the best time to view red maples is expected to be from late October to early December; in flat areas, the time is slightly later, and the best time is expected to be from late November to mid-December.