TOKYO, Sept. 3, 2022—An allay in one Tokyo district is a popular spot for cherry blossom viewing in the spring. The flowers are long gone, supposedly replaced by leaves that have turned to rich green in the late summer, but the many trees bear no leaves and look to be dying or died.
This summer in Tokyo had been brutally hot and sun shines were like laser beams capable of burning what are targeted. Temperatures had been well above 35 degrees celsius many days since early June and sometimes shot above 40.
I have observed other spots of the city for withered sakura trees. While many seemed to have withstood the heat wave, some trees – and there are many – seem to be leading the same fate as my neighborhood ally trees.
Could this be a coincidence, with weak sakura trees dying of diseases or succumbing to the heat wave, and others are surviving and their flowers will spring out next season? I have no idea but it certainly deserves an observation.
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Insight Into the Future