19 June 2007Telegraph
Winter is giving way to spring in the Arctic a month earlier than it did only a decade ago, scientists said yesterday.
The discovery, made by observing plants and animals, is believed to be one of the clearest signs yet of the impact of global warming. Phenology - the study of the timing of seasonal events in the natural world - gives an indication of when spring is under way.
The new research, published in the journal Current Biology, shows that some spring indicators are arriving more than 30 days earlier than they did 10 years ago.
Dr Toke Hoye, from the University of Aarhus in Denmark, who led the study, said: "One consistent feature of extant and projected changes is that Arctic environments are and will be exposed to the greatest warming.
"Our study confirms ... that the seasons are changing."
