Climate change is delaying the joy of sipping pumpkin-spice lattes amidst the canopy of warm fall colors to blur the bite of the incoming winter chill: this year marked the fourth-warmest October in the global climate record, and the absence of fall leaves hold evidence.

In some areas fall foliage is being delayed by up to a month compared to their 19th century timings, possibly impacting the amount of time trees get to brace themselves before winter: “One concern is that trees may not have a chance to finish absorbing the sugars and carbohydrates that remain in their green-tinted leaves before the first winter frost,” National Geographic reports.

It can be thought of as an equivalent to not getting the memo to stock up for groceries for two weeks to prepare for the risk being homebound following a COVID positive test.

“Climate-related delays in leaf coloration are disrupting annual cycles of growth and rest that trees undergo. What that means for forests—how well trees grow, where they can live, and whether they can keep storing carbon at the same rate—is still being sorted out by scientists,” NatGeo reports.