The UK is experiencing a "false autumn", according to the Met Office, as leaves turn brown and berries ripen weeks ahead of the official start of the season. Trees and plants began showing autumnal signs in August due to "the stress of extreme summer conditions", the weather agency said.

When does autumn officially begin?
Traditional "folk" markers for the start of autumn include leaves turning brown, hawthorn berries ripening, swallows migrating and, more recently, coffee chains launching pumpkin spice brews.

More scientifically, when a season begins can be defined in three ways: meteorological, astronomical and phenological. Across the Northern Hemisphere, meteorological autumn begins on 1 September and ends on 30 November. Using set calendar periods makes it easier for meteorological and environmental agencies to compare data over years.

The astronomical date varies between 21 and 24 September, in time with the autumn equinox, when day and night are of equal length, and ends with the winter solstice in December.

The phenological definition relies on the natural world and its response to weather and climate. In the UK, autumn starts when observable events such as leaves falling from trees and the migration of birds begin. Weather and climate conditions mean it varies from year to year.

How is climate change affecting the seasons?
Global warming has changed both the length and timing of the seasons, with Europe and the rest of the Northern Hemisphere experiencing a "much more pronounced change in seasonality" than that in the Global South, Jadu Dash, an environmental sciences professor at Southampton University, told Polytechnique Insights. Autumn has started to arrive, on average, two weeks later, while spring arrives a fortnight earlier.

Met Office analysis found that for every 1C increase in October temperatures, the date at which trees lose all their leaves is delayed by two or three days. But, said the agency, the "ongoing impacts" of climate change can also speed up the arrival of other autumnal conditions such as ripening berries, leading to more frequent occurrences of a false autumn as ecosystems "struggle to adapt to extreme weather patterns".

An unread novel plucked from the feminist canon, a Labubu dangling from a tote bag, and an "oak milk matcha" – these are just some of the identifying features of the so-called performative male, said Ellie Violet Bramley in The Guardian. Although "likened to the poser of the 1990s" who flaunted their cultural superiority, the performative male's "posturing" has a more specific goal: "to woo women they hope will be attracted by their feminist theatrics".

'Gender is inherently a performance'
The opposite of a performative male – the macho "gym bro" – is an equally theatrical gender presentation, said Kyndall Cunningham on Vox. And "is it so bad to be 'performative' when gender is inherently a performance"? Yet we're in "a perpetual cycle of glorifying and later questioning the integrity" of men who dabble in feminine or queer aesthetics. 

That said, men who feel most comfortable presenting themselves as sensitive or "feminine" are often those who already have a surfeit of "masculine capital" and conventional attractiveness: think Harry Styles baring his "six-pack abs" under a pink sequin vest, or rugby-playing screen heartthrob Paul Mescal's penchant for jewellery.

'I'll take the faker'
Dating apps have fostered a pervasive climate of suspicion that puts men in an "impossible position", said politics lecturer Alexander Stoffel on The Conversation. "There is no such thing as an 'authentic male'", and judging performances of masculinity as if "every man with a tote bag is a con artist" is just another way to reinforce traditional gender stereotypes. 

Between a man "begrudgingly scanning the greatest feminist works in history for the sake of pretending" or one who doesn't bother at all, "I'll take the faker every time", said Syeda Khaula Saad on HuffPost. Going against the hyper-masculine status quo, even if it is partly a facade, is still a hopeful act of resistance. Critics of the performative male are really mocking women's perceived gullibility and that's "insulting". The average woman is perfectly capable of discerning "between a red flag and a man with a library card".

Afghan security personnel and medics carry stretchers for earthquake victims in the city of Jalalabad. More than 800 people were killed when the magnitude 6.0 quake struck the country's mountainous eastern  region late on Sunday, with tremors felt from Kabul to Islamabad.

Wakil Kohsar / AFP / Getty Images

From freshly baked pies to homemade jams and local cheeses, Britain's farm shops are brimming with the best locally sourced produce. These rural outlets are perfect for a pit stop on your next day out, whether you're stocking up on snacks or trying to find a gift for the foodies in your life.

Durslade Farm Shop, Somerset
Just past "the pretty Somerset town of Bruton", this rural outlet offers "comprehensive butchery courses", alongside cider, honey, guided foraging sessions and wine tastings using grapes grown at the neighbouring Durslade Vineyard, said The Telegraph.

Wright's Food, Carmarthenshire
Set in a former coaching inn in the stunning Towy Valley, "Wright's is a warren of rooms dedicated to good food", said The Times. Expect lots of delicious Welsh produce, from cheeses and chilli sauce to ciders and biodynamic wines – consider ordering a picnic box for collection.

Kenyon Hall Farm, Cheshire
Set across 500 acres of land in the Cheshire countryside, this working farm is "ideal for families", said The Telegraph. Over the summer, you can pick your own fruit, and there's a sprawling maize maze "with fairytale-themed characters". At the shop, you'll find "artisan goodies", from organic meat to duck eggs. 

Errington's Barn, South Lanarkshire
The real draw of this "rustic-chic farm shop" is the cheese, said The Good Food Guide: there's an entire section dedicated to sheep's and goat's cheese, including the specialty Lanark Blue – a semi-soft blue cheese made from the milk of the farm's Lacaune ewes.

Sneerers are relishing the Mounjaro price hike. They want a refattening
Polly Vernon in The Times
The cost of private Mounjaro prescriptions has just risen massively and there's been a "borderline culture-war grade" response, writes Polly Vernon. Those who see the weight-loss drug as a kind of "miracle" are "losing their minds"; those who "huffed" at this "quick fix" for "the lazy" are "relishing a forthcoming comeuppance". But when it is "easier" and "healthier to exist in a slimmer body", "why must it be a struggle" for it to count?

Why shouldn't adults play with toys like Lego?
Sam Leith in The Spectator
"I have seldom spent a happier morning than the one I devoted to assembling" the Lego Avengers Quinjet, writes Sam Leith. "Embarrassment" has caused "generations of so-called grown-ups" to shy away from anything viewed as "childish". But "the tide seems to be turning", with a booming "kidult" toy market. "Good." Wordsworth said heaven "lay about us in our infancy", and it's clear that play and games are "wired into the history of human progress".

I couldn't forgive my cat's killer – even if it was my husband
Polly Hudson in The i Paper
Radio DJ Jo Whiley has "tearfully shared" that her husband "accidentally ran over and killed their cat", writes Polly Hudson. The "poor man" must be "utterly traumatised", but "could you really forgive your partner for killing your beloved pet"? Maybe marriage vows should be "updated" to cover "this kind of terrible misfortune", with an obligation for couples to "work through involuntary pet manslaughter" right "from the off".