"Fall" redirects here. For other uses, see Fall (disambiguation).

Autumn (also fall in North American English) is one of the four temperate seasons, the transition from summer into winter.

In the temperate zones, autumn is the season during which most crops are harvested, and deciduous trees lose their leaves. It is also the season in which the days rapidly get shorter and cooler (especially in the northern latitudes), and of gradually increasing precipitation in some parts of the world.

Astronomically, it begins with the autumnal equinox (around September 23 in the Northern hemisphere, and March 21 in the southern hemisphere), and ends with the winter solstice (around December 21 in the Northern hemisphere and June 21 in the Southern hemisphere). However, meteorologists count the entire months of March, April and May in the Southern hemisphere, and September, October and November in the Northern hemisphere as autumn. An exception to these definitions is found in the Irish Calendar which still follows the Celtic cycle, where Autumn is counted as the whole months of August, September and October.

Although the days begin to shorten in July or August in the northern latitudes and in January and February in the south, it is usually in September or March where twilight becomes evidently shorter and more abrupt in comparison with the more lingering ones of summer.

Autumn is often defined as the start of the school year in most countries, since they usually begin in early September or early March (depending on the latitude).

Either definition, as with those of the seasons generally, is flawed because it assumes that the seasons are all of the same length, and begin and end at the same time throughout the temperate zone of each hemisphere.

Autumn in popular culture

Autumn's association with the transition from warm to cold weather in the northern hemisphere, and its related status as the season of the primary harvest, has dominated its themes and popular images. In Western cultures, personifications of Autumn are usually pretty, well-fed females decked out with fruits, vegetables and grains that ripen at this time. Most ancient cultures featured autumnal celebrations of the harvest, often the most important on their calendars. Still extant echoes of these celebrations are found in the late-Autumn Thanksgiving holiday of the United States, the Jewish Sukkot holiday with its roots as a full moon harvest festival of "tabernacles" (huts wherein the harvest was processed and which later gained religious significance), the many North American Indian festivals tied to harvest of autumnally ripe foods gathered in the wild, the Chinese Mid-Autumn or Moon festival, and many others. The predominant mood of these autumnal celebrations is a gladness for the fruits of the earth mixed with a certain melancholy linked to the imminence of harsh weather. Remembrance of ancestors is also a common theme.

In modern times, apart from being the start of the school year, it is one of the seasons in which the film industry starts releasing movies that are usually low-budget in scope, but worthy of artistic achievement at academic institutions such as the Oscars and the BAFTA awards (whose award ceremonies are held in late-February). Such movies are considered low-key, deeper in content and more serious than their big-budget, effects-laden summer counterparts. Autumn, which begins on the weekend following Labor day and ends—every 4 years—on the weekend before the US elections, is the shortest and least profitable season of the movies.

Autumn is also associated with the Halloween season, and with it a widespread marketing campaign that promotes it. The film and music industries use this time of year to promote movies and records that closely associate with such holiday, and their releases begin in early September but no later than October 28, since their themes rapidly lose strength once the holidays ends.

Autumn, like spring, is highly unpredictable and, in many regions, it is also short. Temperatures in September can get above 86°F (30°C) and with the heat index, it may make for dangerous conditions regarding people neglecting them-selves in regard to heat stroke (hyperthermia) risks. In October, especially in the northern lattitudes, there maybe some cold snaps and a mix of rain and snow, although permanent snow cover is usually not established until mid-November.

Autumn and tourism

Eastern Canada and the New England region of the United States are famous around the world for the brilliance of their "fall foliage," and a seasonal tourist industry has grown up around the few weeks in autumn when the leaves are at their peak. Some television and web-based weather forecasts even report on the status of the fall foliage throughout the season as a service to tourists. Fall foliage tourists are often referred to as "leaf peepers".

The mix of coniferous and deciduous tree forest in Canada make for a multi-colored display. The image on the right is taken in Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada.

See also

• Axial tilt
• Spring
• Summer
• Winter

External links

• New England fall foliage, tour, report.
• Fall Foliage Trees Information on fall foliage trees for home landscaping, including pictures.
• "The Mirage of Fall - Foliage Trees" at University of Wisconsin has fall pictures of around 50 trees and 20 shrubs
• Virginia Tech's picture gallery from their dendrology department with over 100 images of trees and shrubs
• Fall Foliage Pictures A sample of fall foliage from Western Connecticut
• Autumn of animals and plants in Finland by Northern Nature Projectast:Seronda