Japan's cherry trees were fully bloomed earlier this year compared to past ones, the national weather agency has said, linking the early sakura season to the world's warming climate.
Cherry blossoms hit their peak on March 26 - 10 days in Kyoto sooner than average and the earliest since the government started taking records in 1953.
"Our studies have shown that the start of the cherry blossom season is closely linked with the average temperature in February and March," Shunji Ambe, a Japan Meteorological Agency official, told AFP.
"Our observations of plant life show that spring phenomena (such as cherry and plum blossoms) tend to take place earlier, while autumn phenomena are delayed," he added on Wednesday.
