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It doesn't make much sense to compare temperatures at latitudes from different sides of the Atlantic ocean. The Gulf Stream [1] makes the European cost a lot w
by bnegreve 11y ago
It doesn't make much sense to compare temperatures at latitudes from different sides of the Atlantic ocean. The Gulf Stream [1] makes the European cost a lot warmer at the same latitude. E.g. NYC is colder than North of Spain despite being roughly at the same latitude.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulf_Stream https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulf_Stream
- Amir6 11y agoAre we talking about north or weather being cold? I know for many regions one translates to another but assuming they are the same thing is what "doesn't make sense". In this post, the author is talking about NORTH.
- johnjreiser 11y agoThe latitude is an analogue for habitability. The ocean currents do enable agriculture and thus historic patterns of stable habitation at higher degrees of latitude on the east side of the Atlantic, compared to the west.
- parennoob 11y agoIn popular culture and public consciousness, the two are equated very often. See, for example, the latest hit show - Game of Thrones which shows a very cold, hardy North and a warm, indolent South. Now I know these specific books that the show is based on derive from the Wars of the Roses -- but have you ever a fantasy writer who put people on the Southern hemisphere of their planet and made the North warm?
- kr7 11y ago> but have you ever a fantasy writer who put people on the Southern hemisphere of their planet and made the North warm? The Dragon Age series of games (and books).
- douche 11y agoAlso Pillars of Eternity
- david-given 11y agoI used to have a theory that you could tell where a fantasy author lived from the shape of their map. e.g. Maurice Gee's _The Halfmen of O_ --- good book, BTW --- has got the warm ocean to the north, with the snowy mountains to the south. He's a New Zealander. Unfortunately, authors are way too aware of this now. I'm currently reading Jane Lindskold's Firekeeper quintet --- also really good --- and they're set on the west coast of a continent, called the New World, which was settled a couple of centuries ago by civilisations from across the sea to the East. She's American.
- ascorbic 11y agoFun fact: The Shetland Islands off the north coast of Scotland have the same USDA climate zone as south Texas (9a), but are around the same latitude as central Alaska.
- lucaspiller 11y agoTIL Texas isn't as warm as I thought...
- ascorbic 11y agoIt's a little misleading, because climate zones are just based on minimum average temperatures. British winters are similar to Texan winters, but British summers are more like Alaskan summers.
- noxToken 11y ago>British winters are similar to Texan winters Hmm. That's not so bad. What does everyone complain about? >but British summers are more like Alaskan summers You poor, poor people. Though they probably say the same about our 100F (~38C) summers.
- bryanlarsen 11y ago> What does everyone complain about? British winters have a similar temperature as Texan winters, but they have a lot more rain and a lot less sunshine (because of the clouds, and because the day is shorter).
- ascorbic 11y agoAnything over 25C is a scorcher. Though nobody has AC in their homes, so we're less able to cope.
- icebraining 11y agoThough they probably say the same about our 100F (~38C) summers. Considering how many of them come to our Southern corner to enjoy our 38C summers, probably not. (And they're very welcome, by the way! I'm quite happy to see tourists around.)
- flexie 11y agoTemperature is just a part of it. Light is another. And the populated part of Canada - being much more southern than most people realise - has light that compares to southern France, not to Scandinavia or Alaska. Whenever I am back in Scandinavia I am struck by how dim it always is. Eternal dusk.
- xefer 11y agoThe idea that the Gulf Stream per se is responsible for climate changes in northern Europe has been called into question. It turns out that simply having prevailing winds crossing the ocean is by far the biggest factor. The same phenomenon is observed on the West coast of North America but the Kuroshio Current in the Pacific does not carry the same warm current as far North. http://www.americanscientist.org/issues/pub/2006/4/the-source-of-europes-mild-climate/ http://www.americanscientist.org/issues/pub/2006/4/the-sourc... http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/new-simulations-question-gulf-stream-role-tempering-europes-winters/ http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/new-simulations-qu...