Azaleas Bloom in Late Fall for the First Time

Azaleas, a flower that usually blooms in spring, have blossomed this year in late fall.
Although its leaves quickly turned yellow, the flower itself is still quite pink as it brightens Seoul's metropolitan area. It is the first time that azaleas have come out in November since official records have been kept in 1907. Not only azaleas, but also other flowers such as golden bells are blooming in Chunchon, Puyo, Yongchon, and Muan as well.
The unusual floral arrangement is simply due to the irregular warm weather the Korean Penninsula has enjoyed this autumn.
In October, the average temperature in 10 major cities in Korea marked 17 degrees which was the warmest October on record. Flowers were lured out of the initial stages of their winter hibernation by the rather high temparatures. Their physiological time clock is out of whack. In addition to that, the torrential rainfall the nation experienced in August also caused trees and other flora to miscalculate the seasonal changes.