“There are no more seasons!”: is this expression truer today than before ?

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While you are shopping at the market, coming out of your elevator and passing your neighbor, or chatting with friends. The famous “There are no more seasons!” is an expression often used to express a feeling of perceptible climate change (and its variant: “We don't know how to dress anymore!” ). With the slightly different summer we've had in France this year, there's a good chance it's come back to your ears even more frequently.

Should this phrase be considered a simple impression or a tangible reality, supported by serious scientific data ? Let's explore this question a little by considering the climatological, historical and societal factors that surround it.

Scientific evidence of the disruption of the seasons

Contemporary climate records highlight an alarming propensity for extreme weather phenomena (such as hurricanes) and the destabilization of seasonal cycles.

According to the analyzes of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the data collected are quite clear: < strong>winters are becoming milder and milder and summers are becoming more and more scorching. You can find the summary of the sixth IPCC report on this site.

The frequency of paroxysmal climate events is increasing in a worrying manner. Storms, floods, heat waves, extreme fires due to temperature disruption. All of these upheavals are largely attributed to the inexorable increase in greenhouse gas emissions.

At the same time, transitional seasons, such as spring and autumn, seem to be withering away, profoundly disrupting the natural rhythms of fauna and flora. Early flowering and early bird migrations are irrefutable indicators of this climate disruption. These alterations of biological cycles threaten the richness of our biodiversity and dangerously weaken the precarious balance of our ecosystems.

Perceptions influenced by experience and societal changes

The scientific consensus is therefore firmly established on this subject; climate disruption is intrinsically linked to human activities. You will not find any scientific publication that is even slightly serious proving the opposite. The evidence is overwhelming, based on decades of research by thousands of researchers around the world.

However, our understanding of weather and the seasons is profoundly shaped by the distorting prism of our personal memories. Reminiscences of our childhood, often imbued with an idealized nostalgia, make it easy to overlook the fact that climatic vagaries have always marked our history.

In addition, the heightened media coverage of extreme weather phenomena contributes to amplify our perception of climate change. The press, omnipresent social networks and 24/7 news channels tirelessly bombard us with images of natural disasters, thus heightening our sensitivity to environmental changes.

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At the same time, our modern lifestyles play a major role in this perceptual alteration. Rampant urbanization, frenetic professional rhythms and the transformation of agricultural practices are irremediably changing our relationship with nature and the seasons.

The gradual erosion of seasonal agricultural activities, coupled with the permanent availability of once ephemeral foodstuffs in our supermarkets, contributes even more to us disconnecting from the natural and immemorial cycle of the seasons.

The climate has always varied

History teaches us that the seasons have never been of an immutable regularity. Paleoclimatic research reveals that natural fluctuations are inherent in the Earth's climate.

Thus, the Little Ice Age, which raged from the 14th to the 19th century (1303-1860), plunged Europe into exceptionally harsh winters, seriously compromising harvests and causing devastating famines.

Conversely, the Medieval Climatic Optimum (also called the 1000 year improvement), which lasted from the 10th to the 14th century, was characterized by a warming conducive to agricultural expansion in the northern regions of the Old Continent.

Other periods were marked by notable climatic upheavals, such as the Renaissance, which experienced scorching summers alternating with freezing winters. The climatic oscillations of the Holocene, our current geological era that began some 11,700 years ago, also show alternating phases of warming and cooling. These examples illustrate the intrinsic variability of the climate over the centuries.

Nevertheless, the speed and scale of contemporary climate change are unprecedented in our recent history. Indeed, the meteoric rise in temperatures and the resurgence of extreme weather events far surpass the natural variations observed in the past.

The “There are no more seasons!” therefore reflects a reality felt by many of us; a reality further confirmed by scientific data. Seasonal cycles are indeed disrupted and this alteration is perceived in our daily lives. Even though this perception is enriched by subjective and cultural factors, climate models still predict an intensification of these disturbances in the future. The term is therefore more relevant than it used to be, there is no doubt about it.

• Records show milder winters, hotter summers, and an increase in extreme weather events.
• Our perception of the seasons is influenced by personal memories and increased media coverage of natural disasters.
• While the climate has always varied, the scale and speed of current changes are unprecedented.

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