End of Heat

River ice melts completely and otters become active in fishing, laying their catch out along the banks as though arranging sacrificial offerings. This is regarded as a sign that aquatic ecosystems are regaining vitality in early spring.

Migratory birds wintering in the temperate Southern Hemisphere sense the arrival of spring and begin returning from warmer low-latitude areas toward the north—that is, toward higher latitudes within the Southern Hemisphere—bringing back the familiar sight of geese flying in formation across the sky.

Nourished by continuous spring rain and rising ground temperatures, grasses and trees begin to send out fresh shoots. The land gradually sheds the withered yellow tones of winter and clothes itself in tender green, as the vitality of life bursts forth fully beneath the spring light.

The dry season deepens further across tropical regions of the Northern Hemisphere, with very little rainfall, increasingly dry air, falling river levels, and some smaller bodies of water drying up as vegetation enters a deeper mode of drought adaptation.

Sustained rains nourish the tropical Southern Hemisphere, turning grasslands richly green and filling forests with renewed vitality. Wildlife enters one of the most favorable periods for breeding and foraging, while ecosystem activity reaches its annual peak.

Tropical monsoon systems in the Southern Hemisphere settle into a stable pattern, rainfall becomes more regular, the annual transition between wet and dry seasons is largely complete, and the tropical world enters a comparatively steady phase of climatic operation.