Autumn, interchangeably known as fa

Autumn, interchangeably known as fall in the US and Canada,[1] is one of the four temperate seasons. Autumn marks the transition from summer into winter, in September (Northern Hemisphere) or March (Southern Hemisphere) when the arrival of night becomes noticeably earlier and the temperature cools considerably. One of its main features is the shedding of leaves from deciduous trees as they pave way for further growth.

In North America, autumn is usually considered to start with the September equinox.[2] In traditional East Asian solar term, autumn starts on or around 8 August and ends on about 7 November. In Ireland, the autumn months according to the national meteorological service, Met Éireann, are September, October and November.[3] However, according to the Irish Calendar, which is based on ancient Gaelic traditions, autumn lasts throughout the months of August, September, and October, or possibly a few days later, depending on tradition. In Australia and New Zealand, autumn officially begins on 1 March and ends on 31 May.[4]

Some cultures regard the autumnal equinox as "mid-autumn", others with a temperature lag treat it as the start of autumn.[5] Meteorologists (and most of the temperate countries in the southern hemisphere)[6] use a definition based on months, with autumn being September, October and November in the northern hemisphere,[7] and March, April and May in the southern hemisphere.