Start making your plans: Cherry blossoms in Japan will begin to flower in mid-March a few days earlier than average, according to recent forecasts by commercial meteorologists.
May 3 in Sapporo
Though the higher temperature in the late fall delayed the end of dormancy for cherry blossom trees, which is similar to hibernation for plants, the warmer winter allowed them to grow more quickly, enabling the trees to catch up with the average pace of flowering, according to the forecast.
When cherry blossoms flowered in major cities last year, many people gathered for annual viewing parties outdoors raising concerns the tradition might have contributed to the spread of COVID-19. At the time, the numbers of new infections reported daily were showing a rising trend.
Japan’s first state of emergency over the pandemic was issued on April 7 in Tokyo and other prefectures, and later expanded nationwide.