Not 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

Not 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.