Cherry blossoms bloom longer due to big temperature change

Thursday 15th April, 03:11 PM JST

TOKYO —

Peculiar weather patterns this spring have kept cherry blossoms in bloom longer than usual across the country, the Japan Meteorological Agency said Thursday. While high temperatures from early to mid-March helped cherry blossoms come out early, the subsequent period for the flowers to reach full blossom—normally one week—has been drawn out due to cold weather in late March, the agency said said.

Cherry blossoms took as long as 19 days from blooming to reach peak blossoms in Matsuyama, the longest ever observed in the city, followed by 16 days in Miyazaki, 15 days in Kobe and Takamatsu, and 14 days in Osaka—all record lengths. In Nagoya, the period was a record-tying 15 days.