Decorated Christmas trees in New York City on 12 December 2024. Photograph: Gordon Donovan/NurPhoto/REX/Shutterstock Scientists search for a variety to withstand the climate crisis as high temperatures and drought can stress trees The climate crisis is increasingly affecting agriculture in the United States, including the production of Christmas trees. Like all crops, Christmas trees are vulnerable to a changing climate, as the United States continues to experience warmer temperatures , more frequent and severe heat, increased rainfall, droughts, wildfires and hurricanes, as a result of global warming and the climate crisis – primarily driven by humans’ burning of fossil fuels . A recent report from the National Centers for Environmental Information, which is part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), highlights how dire the climate crisis is and how it will continue to affect Christmas trees. The report states that high temperatures and drought can stress Christmas trees, making them more vulnerable to pests and diseases, that excessive rainfall can cause flooding and root rot, and that extreme cold can cause frost damage, drying out buds and shoots. In 2021, severe drought in Oregon led to the death of over 70% of Christmas tree seedlings in the state that year, the report states, due to extreme temperatures and very dry conditions that also completely dried out the needles of more mature trees. Jill Sidebottom from the National Christmas Tree Association said that warmer temperatures can affect needle retention on Christmas trees, as they require cold temperatures to remain dormant. With warmer autumns, trees struggle to hold their needles longer. “Those trees have to have cold temperatures,” she said. Hurricane Helene in September caused catastrophic flooding and historic rainfall in North Carolina, leading to approximately $125m in losses of ornamental nurseries and Christmas trees, the report states. In […]