Cherry blossom trees bloom untimely

SHILLONG: While the annual Cherry Blossom Festival is scheduled to be held in 22 days from now, the cherry blossom trees are already in full bloom across the town.
It is evident that in most parts of the city, the cherry blossom trees are already blooming while the annual festival will be held in the city from November 13 to 16.
Dinabandhu Sahoo, Director, Institute of Bioresources and Sustainable Development (IBSD), who organises the annual festival in association with the state government, said that the cherry blossom trees are in full bloom in some parts of the city.
He, however, also said that this is an indication of climate change as the cherry blossoms have bloomed much earlier this year.
It may be mentioned that last year too, there were similar instances when nature seemed non-cooperative with usual trends. The cherry blossom trees were not ready to come out in full bloom when the festival was held last year and it bloomed much later after the festival.