Chandigarh, March 3 -- It's only the start of March, but the city is already baking in temperatures usually reserved for the middle of the month, making it clear that spring is over and summer is here. Maximum temperature in the city has already gone to 29.5degC on March 2, the highest of the season. Before this it went up to 29.2degC on February 17. This time the temperature became too warm too soon, and has remained around 3 to 4 degrees above normal in the city since then. Normal temperature is calculated by taking the average of the temperature on the same day for the past 30 years. While the India meteorological department (IMD) doesn't have a well-defined time period for what they call 'spring' in the city, IMD Chandigarh director Surender Paul said that usually there is a transition period between winter and summer which is seen in the city. "Usually this goes on for two to three weeks till February-end. While sunlight starts in the city from mid-February, during this weather cool winds and light foggy haze continues to linger in the city leading to cooler temperature," he said. Speaking about the abnormally warm temperatures this February-end, Paul said that there are reasons which are specific to just this year and some overall reasons as well. "This year there were very few active western disturbances which affected the region. Due to this rain remained below normal and there wasn't much snowfall in the hilly regions of Himachal Pradesh as well. Further, due to the absence of western disturbances, dry north westerly winds also kept fog from forming in the city. Paul added that long-term effects like seasonal variability and climate change also can't be ruled out as extreme temperatures have started to become more common in the city. Due to this, cold winter temperatures shift to the warmer extremes in relatively fewer days. Harminder Pal Singh, chairperson of Department of Environment Studies in Panjab University (PU), said that it's a phenomenon happening all over, in other countries as well where the winter weather is shrinking and summer is coming earlier. "Not only have the number of days in spring been reduced, even the season is coming earlier than previous years. While the spring equinox happens on March 20, biologically for plants it would happen in February." Earlier summer affecting pollination in plants, Singh explained that this has caused a disconnect between plants and the pollinating agents which can lead to shortage in fruits and other plant products. "Plants start to pollinate based on the temperature. If temperature gets high earlier in the year, the pollinating agents like bees and butterflies will still follow the same schedule and will become active days or even weeks later. This can affect the pollination of plants as it is a time-bound process," he said. He explained that the impact of this can be seen already in the city. "On the road leading from Tribune Chowk to Transport Chowk, one side of mango trees which get sun have started flowering while the other side is dry. Dry winds which are still blowing in the city will impact the production of mangoes here," he added. UT chief conservator of forests, Saurabh Kumar said that a holistic study needs to be conducted to assess the degree of shortening of the spring season and what impact it has on the city. A senior official of the horticulture division of the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation said that the shorter spring won't need the MC to update its planting schedule and the longer summer is better for the growth of plants and trees in the city. Maximum temperature rose from 29.1degC on Sunday to 29.5degC on Monday, 4.4 degrees on Friday. Minimum temperature rose from 12.1degC on Sunday to 13degC on Monday, 0.5 degrees above normal. In the next three days, maximum temperature will remain around 32degC while minimum temperature will remain around 16degC....