Are the autumns we remember disappearing?

Are the autumns we remember disappearing? Image source, PA Media Image caption, A cyclist passes beneath autumn colour in London as some people question whether the season is changing By Elliot Ball West Midlands Published 4 hours ago Frosty Halloween mornings. Bonfire Night wrapped up in hats and gloves. Trees turning red, orange and gold. For many of us, those are the hallmarks of a traditional autumn. Yet as October draws to a close, with leaves still clinging to branches and patches of green lingering in parks and woodlands, some people are asking what happened to the autumn they remember.

After one of the hottest and driest summers on record, experts warned some trees had experienced a " false autumn " - shedding leaves early to conserve water rather than following the gradual seasonal process that produces vivid autumn colours. Few people spend more time watching the seasons change than wildlife photographer Sharon Levi, who owns Brine Pit Wildlife Photography in Droitwich. The Worcestershire-based photographer said the vivid reds and oranges often associated with autumn had been slower to emerge this year.

"It's like the silver birch trees this year started losing their leaves in the summer when it was hot," she said. "They've still got some leaves on them, but they've not got as much leaf. "We haven't got all the vivid reds and oranges that we get but there's a few trees about that are turning now." Image source, BBC Weather Watchers/Sabphotos69 Image caption, Autumn colours create a patchwork of gold, copper and green across woodland near Bewdley in Worcestershire So are our autumns really changing, or are we simply remembering the past through rose-tinted glasses?

What is happening? Prof Dan Bebber, an ecologist at the University of Exeter, said many people would recognise the feeling that autumn no longer looks quite the way it once did. "If we all think back to our childhoods, and I guess people of my age anyway, it was always freezing cold and frosty for Halloween and 5 November," he said. "These days, it can be T-shirt weather." But before getting to what has changed, it helps to understand why leaves fall in the first place.

While evergreen trees, such as pines, keep their needles throughout winter, deciduous trees shed their leaves to conserve energy as temperatures fall and daylight hours shorten. "There's two ways of dealing with winter," Bebber said. Evergreen trees "tough it out", while deciduous trees "cut their losses", reabsorbing nutrients from their leaves before dropping them and waiting for spring to return. Bebber said trees could be thought of as a "solar-powered water fountain", constantly drawing water from the soil and moving it to their leaves.

Image source, Prof Dan Bebber Image caption, Ecologist Dan Bebber says hot, dry weather can sometimes trigger a so-called "false autumn" When there is not enough water in the ground, trees come under stress and are forced to make difficult trade-offs. "When it gets really dry, trees have to cut their losses and just decide it's too dangerous to even have leaves anymore," he said. In some cases, that can lead to a false autumn. "The false autumns tend to have duller colours because it's almost like a rush job and the trees are dropping their leaves without going through that complete absorbance of photosynthesis."

As a result, some trees can lose their leaves before producing the vivid reds, oranges and golds many people associate with autumn. Image source, EPA/Shutterstock Image caption, Experts say autumn colours can emerge at different times depending on weather conditions and tree species That does not mean those displays have disappeared altogether. "If you've got the right kind of conditions where the trees are going through a kind of a real autumn, rather than just shutting off and dropping the leaves due to drought, then you will see that the trees will remove the green from the leaves," Bebber said.

"If you've got a big patch of the same types of species then you'll see those big displays." Evidence from across England suggests there is no single autumn timetable. Forestry England's Autumn Leaf Watch , external tracker suggests the season is unfolding at different speeds across the country. Sightings have been recorded in the New Forest in Hampshire and the Forest of Dean in Gloucestershire. Reports have also been logged in Delamere Forest in Cheshire, Sherwood Forest in Nottinghamshire, Thetford Forest on the Norfolk-Suffolk border and Dalby Forest in North Yorkshire.

Autumn changes have also been recorded at Cannock Chase Forest in Staffordshire, Haughmond Hill in Shropshire and Hay Wood in Warwickshire. Forestry England says autumn colours are developing at different rates depending on local weather conditions, elevation and tree species. That means some woodlands are already glowing gold and orange, while others remain noticeably green. Image gallery Skip image gallery Image source, BBC Weather Watchers/PhotoDaveA Image caption, A line of trees in full autumn colour stretches across the Charlecote landscape in Warwickshire beneath bright blue skies.

Image source, BBC Weather Watchers/Staffordshire Lad Image caption, Autumn colours fill the trees in Barlaston as leaves turn shades of gold, amber and orange. Image source, BBC Weather Watchers/Beefy Image caption, A carpet of fallen leaves surrounds a tree ablaze with autumn colour in Pedmore, Dudley. Image source, BBC Weather Watchers/KEN M Image caption, Golden autumn leaves blanket the ground beneath mature trees in Lydbury North, Shropshire. 1 of 4 Previous image Next image Slide 1 of 4 , Trees displaying autumn shades of green, gold, orange and red stand in a row across open parkland at Charlecote.

A tall, narrow tree rises above the surrounding canopy, while grassy fields extend into the distance under a blue sky with scattered cloud. , A line of trees in full autumn colour stretches across the Charlecote landscape in Warwickshire beneath bright blue skies. End of image gallery For Levi, however, the changes extend beyond the colours of the leaves. "If you go back 30-odd years, we used to have proper winters," she said. "My children have never seen that and they're in their 30s."

While Bebber believes weather patterns are changing, he is cautious about predicting exactly what that means for future autumns. "We're entering a period of quite uncertain weather," he said. "Things are changing. "But exactly how they will, I wouldn't want to say." Get in touch Tell us which stories we should cover in Hereford & Worcester Contact form Contact form Follow BBC Hereford & Worcester on BBC Sounds , Facebook , external , X , external and Instagram , external .

Related topics Wildlife Droitwich Spa Exeter Devon Hampshire & Isle of Wight Gloucestershire Delamere Cheshire Thetford Dalby Coventry & Warwickshire More on this story Where to spot brilliant colours after 'false autumn' spoils some leaf displays Published 21 October Rising temperatures threaten UK trees – but these resilient species could help save our forests Published 19 October 2025 How climate change is reshaping Britain's trees Published 21 September Related internet links Forestry England University of Exeter Brine Pit Wildlife Photography