Southern Ontario has enjoyed some record-breaking temperatures in recent days.
An unusually warm November is welcome for many people, knowing that winter weather will soon be on the way.
A game of pick-up hoops might be a pretty normal sight outdoors during some parts of the year, but in November, it can be a bit of a strange sight.
Some locals were found on the outdoor courts on Tuesday, and they say they’ve never seen anything like this.
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“Such good weather,” says Shaochen Li, who is one of the players.
“It’s not usually this nice,” says Michael Wright, another player.
“Something’s going on.”
That ‘something’ has a scientific name, according to Queen’s University biology professor Dr. Stephen Lougheed.
“It’s called a phenological mismatch,” says Dr. Lougheed.
It’s a complicated phrase, that essentially means nature is out of balance — leading to confusing days for plants and wildlife.
“What might happen if birds return too early from their wintering grounds, they might arrive when the insects are not available that they usually eat and feed their babies,” says Dr. Lougheed.
The question begs to be asked, is it a result of global warming?
“Although we can’t give direct causation to these warm fall temperatures, it’s part of a general trend that’s caused by human activities,” says Dr. Lougheed.
But until something can be done to reverse the trends, at least for now, these human activities will last a little later into the fall.
“I hope in November there is no snow,” says Li.
“Because then I can play every day outside.”