Cherry trees came into bloom Wednesday in Nagasaki Prefecture, marking the first blooming of the Somei-Yoshino variety to be recorded in Japan this spring, according to the Meteorological Agency.
Officials confirmed at around 10 a.m. that five flowers had started to blossom from a cherry tree at an observatory of the agency in the city of Nagasaki. The bloom was four days earlier than average but three days later than last year.
The flowers will be in full bloom in a week to 10 days, the observatory said. "The warmer-than-usual weather has most likely led to the cherry tree's early blooming," a local agency official said.
The average temperature in the city of Nagasaki was 2.1 degrees higher than usual in late February, at 10.8 Celsius, and 1.8 degrees higher, at 11.1 C, in early March, according to the weather agency.
On Wednesday, temperatures rose throughout Japan, with the mercury hitting 20.6 C in Kameyama in Mie Prefecture, 19.4 C in Hitachiomiya in Ibaraki Prefecture and 19.1 C in Edogawa Ward, Tokyo.
The weather agency made no mention of the blooming of Somei-Yoshino trees in Tokyo.
