The first blooms of cherry blossoms, a symbol of the arrival of spring, were officially observed in Seoul on Monday, the weather agency said.
The Korea Meteorological Administration said the first blooms were spotted in the observation cherry blossom tree in front of the Seoul Weather Station in the city’s central Jongno district.
The weather agency determines the date of the first cherry blossom bloom in Seoul when at least three flower buds are observed on a branch of the over 60-year-old tree.
This year’s first cherry blossom bloom is a week later than that observed last year, but it still marks the fifth earliest since such an observation was first made in 1922.
On average, the first cherry blossom blooms were observed on April 8, and the earliest record so far was in 2021, when they were spotted on March 24.
The date of the first cherry blossom blooms has recently moved up, likely due to global warming.
No cherry blossom blooms were officially observed in Seoul in March before 2014, when the first
blooms were recorded on March 28, marking the first occurrence in March. In 1922, the first day that cherry blossoms were in bloom was April 14.
In South Korea’s springtime, cherry blossoms become abloom following the forsythia and then the azalea, with clear intervals between them.
In recent years, however, the timing of their blooms tends to be more concurrent in what is termed an “ecological mismatch,” posing risks to the survival of insects dependent on their flowers for pollen and honey, as well as plants that rely on those insects for fruiting.
Source: Yonhap News Agency