Fading fall color

With leaf-peeping season on the wane in New England, some academics say colorful fall foliage could fade as global warming advances.

Since 1895, says Adam Markham of the nonprofit organization Clean Air-Cool Planet, average temperatures in the region have risen about one degree. A University of New Hampshire study forecasts a 6- to 10-degree rise over the next 100 years, disrupting the cold snaps that produce red hues in deciduous trees.

“Some of the things that define New England -- such as its fall color display -- are going to disappear if global warming continues unchecked,” says Barrett Rock, a professor of natural resources at the University of New Hampshire.

-- Christopher Reynolds