The title of this blog entry came up because of an article I read recently on BBC magazine regarding the effects of climate change. Higher temperatures and droughts across the globe are having big impact on the entire ecosystems, including the reduction of leaf pigments production and causing leaves to fall from trees prematurely.

There are tropical countries where autumns don’t exist at all, and so their inhabitants would miss out on the beauty of autumns. Personally, I love autumns and the article made me wonder what the world will be like without autumns, how will this affect us?

I have come up with a list of possible scenarios if this happens:

No more fall foliage – Tourism in Canada, America and Japan would be affected because fall foliage draws tourists to well-known spots every year. The local economies would no doubt be hit hard by this.

Starving squirrels – What would happen to the poor squirrels? In autumns, I frequently see squirrels out and about in London’s parks gathering and burying nuts and seeds in preparation for winters. Without autumns, they would not have enough time to store food away when it becomes scarce in winters.

Expensive mushrooms – Autumn arriving later (like this year) means that fungi is not appearing until the temperature drops. Mushrooms boom in autumns, without autumns, they would be scarce and harder to find. Outdoor activities like fungi foraging would not take place, and we may have to pay a double for our wild mushroom risottos!

Halloween without pumpkins – Foods like pumpkins, sweet potatoes, figs and many root vegetables are harvested during autumn, a Halloween without the iconic carved pumpkin is almost unthinkable!

No more Sweet Purple Potato Kit Kat – Seasonal changes and festivals are very important to the Japanese culture. Not only do the Japanese celebrate each season with traditional activities and events, seasonal food and ingredients are also closely linked with their food culture. Food and drinks manufacturers, fast food chains and restaurants would launch limited edition seasonal products all year round. In autumn, sweet purple potato, pumpkin, mushroom, ginko nuts and chestnut are all seasonal foods that you would see everywhere. How boring would the world be without Sweet Purple Potato Kit Kat?

‘Tales from the Autumn House’ exhibition at St John on Bethnal Green installed by graphic artist and illustrator Renaud C. Haslan

No autumn fashion and trends – The multibillion-dollar fashion industry depends very much on the seasons, and during fashion week in September and October every year, fashionistas are all out and about ready to be photographed in their latest autumn gear. Being seen in their passé summer outfits would be unimaginable!

An unusually warm October in the UK this year has caused a dip in sales of coats, jackets and knitwear, so fashion companies would need to be ready for more unpredictable weather in the future.

Autumn-inspired art, poems, music, films and novels will be meaningless – In the year 2114, people may have to rely on paintings, poems, films, books and songs to get a glimpse of what autumn feels and looks like. Yet these works would be meaningless to the generations who have never experienced autumns in their life time. Autumns would be part of history, just like the Ice age and they wouldl learn about it through their school textbooks…

I am sure I can keep on writing about this, but I hope that none of the above would take place. Skeptics may continue to dismiss climate change as myths or that humanity is not responsible for it, but how can industrial pollution and carbon dioxide emissions be beneficial to mankind and the planet? We need to be responsible for our actions and protect the environment regardless of whether global warming is man-made or not.

A future without autumns sounds frightening and yet plausible unless we take the warning seriously.