What is a false autumn and why is it happening?

The first official day of autumn begins on 22 September

As leaves turn brown, evenings darken and pumpkin spice lattes return, it may feel like autumn has arrived.

But the first official day of autumn is not until 22 September, so what is happening?

Experts at the University of Worcester say it is down to a phenomenon called false autumn, where trees and plants behave as if the season has changed due to the stress of extreme summer conditions.

"It's been a very, very long, hot, dry summer, and the wildlife is reacting to the weather that we've got this year," Dr Mike Wheeler said.

He explained that trees had started to shut down because of the heat, which had an effect on all kinds of wildlife and the resources they eat.

"Nature is very resilient, but we are actually pushing that resilience a little bit now. We are getting to the point where it is getting rather stressed," he said.

Charlie Clive says that nearly all his crops had ripened at least two weeks early

Clive's Fruit Farm in Worcester has been affected by the false autumn and found that while soft fruits like berries grew really well, apples and cherries found the weather much tougher.

The farm's owner, Charlie Clive, said that nearly all of his crops had ripened at least two weeks earlier than usual due to the hot summer.

"It is a problem this year, and the trees next year will struggle because they make their bud in August time, so it could be interesting," he said.

Some of his apple trees were looking "sad" because they had grown too many apples with not enough water, leading to premature falling.

It's a problem for species like birds who look for food to feed on over the winter and will affect what they can eat during the colder months.

"Our berries and our flowers are coming out earlier in the cycle than they usually would; there will be less of these in the autumn period," Birmingham Wildlife Trust's Jake Williams said.

Trees are "shutting down" by shedding their leaves to survive

The Met Office said that with record-breaking temperatures and prolonged dry spells this summer, the trees and plants were shedding leaves and fruit in a bid to survive.

Drought conditions, heatwaves and climate change are all causes of a false autumn, and the Met Office said we could expect more early leaf fall as the UK continues to experience hotter, drier summers.