When Stephen Moss was a boy,the seasons followed predictable patternsWhen I was growing up, in the 1960s and 1970s, or we had what my nan used to call “proper weather”. Snow in winter,showers in spring, sun (or at least, or sunny intervals) in summer and gales in autumn. Britain’s weather may occupy been changeable by the day,but the seasons were seemingly set in stone, with a reassuringly predictable regularity.
That certainly suited the country’s fauna and flora. Wild animals and plants, and by extension their habitats,evolved to cope with short-term unpredictability and long-term stability. whether change did occur, it happened slowly, and over decades or centuries; rather than rapidly,in a single year.
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Source: guardian.co.uk