The record drought in the Philadelphia region is posing a significant threat to the health of local trees already off schedule with their leaf drop, writes Justin Udo for KYW Newsradio.

“The way things have been going, trees have been holding their leaves a lot longer into the season, so seeing them drop in October is actually a result of the drought and not necessarily normal leaf drop,” said arborist Jason Parker with Davey Tree.

Even if rain comes soon, many trees have already sustained damage.

“Short-term effects are going to be diminished leaf size and color, you probably see that next Spring starting to show up,” said Parker.

Other short-term effects include potential color change during the Summer and even possible leaf drops. If the drought continues, this will worsen.

“Longer term, the weaker a tree is, the more susceptible it’s going to be to other things, so secondary pests, secondary diseases,” he said.

To remediate some effects of the drought, people can lay a garden hose with a light trickle at the base of a tree on their property, “leave it on for like an hour and that’s going to soak in,” said Parker.

Read more about tree health during the record drought at KYW Newsradio.