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Stupid question, but is the Southern Hemisphere summer (i.e., now) then, on average, hotter than it's northern counterpart?
by Xophmeister 12y ago
Stupid question, but is the Southern Hemisphere summer (i.e., now) then, on average, hotter than it's northern counterpart?
- rmc 12y agoThe southern hemisphere is a large area, stretching from Kenya, to Australia, to Antartica. Tempature is also affected by distance to the sea/ocean.
- kachnuv_ocasek 12y agoIf it is, it is not because of the distance from the Sun, but because of the distribution of land vs. sea.
- bradleyland 12y agoWe're about 93 million miles from the Sun. The eccentricity of Earth's orbit results in a variance in that distance of around 3 million miles. In very round numbers, that's about a 3% variance, but the effect on temperature is vastly outweighed by the effect of the seasons (resulting from Earth's tilt on its axis), local climate variables, and the land/ocean ratio in a given region.
- spdustin 12y agoNot a stupid question at all! Find a radiant heat source (portable infrared heater) and stand one meter away from it. How warm do you feel? Now move closer by approximately 3cm. Feel noticeably warmer? In fact, Southern Hemisphere summers are milder due to how much of the sun's energy is absorbed vs. reflected by the land and water. More water and less land in the Southern Hemisphere means that more of the heat energy from the sun (which is, basically, a form of light) is reflected away.