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Strange how nobody even mentioned how mild Australia is. Even the US south has recorded lower maximum highs than some of these cities in AUS:
Adelaide ............. 8.3C Albury ................ 5.6C (at 36'S and way inland, not bad) Brisbane ............. 10.2C (akin to Orlando latitude-wise) Canberra ............ 2.1C (for an inland, high altitude place at 35'S that's still fairly warm) Coffs Harbour ...... 12.3C Esperance ........... 9.3C Geelong .............. 7.9C (near Melbourne, at 38'S, even warmer than Sydney's lowest maximum) Gold Coast .......... 13.0C Hobart ................ 4.3C (this city is on the same latitude of NYC) Mildura ................7.9C (inland at 34'S - East Asia and Eastern US have seen much lower maximums) Perth .................. 8.8C Sydney ................ 7.7C (it's still higher than LA's lowest maximum, and Sydney is on the east coast here)
Record low maximums? Don't know if that's the best way to examine a climate. What's true is that Australia in general tends to be a mild continent, with mild winters AND mild summers in comparison to climates in North America at a similar latitude and elevation. This is because it's surrounded by water. The Australian deserts are nowhere near as hot in summer as the Arizona desert is, to say nothing of Middle Eastern deserts that are at a similar latitude.
Take Thredbo for example: At 36 degrees South and only 1365 m in elevation, it's lower in elevation and closer to the equator than Denver, Colorado. However, Thredbo has recorded freezing weather in every month of the year, and its record January low is only 8 degrees above the record July low. Thredbo has recorded -4.4 C in January (the warmest month of the year). You'd have to go to extremely high elevations and/or latitudes to find equivalent July record lows in the Northern Hemisphere.
It annoys me when people insist that Australia is "warm". It isn't. Nor is it cool. It's mild. One has to be careful to compare apples to apples though. Australia's hottest city of Oodnadatta has summer highs that would make any Phoenix native guffaw in amusement.
I also realize that Melbourne has recorded Phoenix-like temperatures but one must look at the averages, not at the record highs.
Here's another example comparing somewhat equivalent latitudes: Menindee, NSW vs Baghdad, Iraq.
January average in Menindee is a balmy 27 C. July average in Baghdad is a scorching 35 C. Although both cities have comparable record summer highs, the record summer lows are much lower in Menindee.
I realize I'm getting totally off-topic here but I had an argument with someone on another forum who insisted that Australia overall is a hot place and that got me steamed up!
Record low maximums? Don't know if that's the best way to examine a climate.
It's an important factor to me. I don't mind frosty mornings, what drives me up the wall is when it just won't warm up in the day and I'm still bundled up in the afternoon.
It annoys me when people insist that Australia is "warm". It isn't. Nor is it cool. It's mild. One has to be careful to compare apples to apples though. Australia's hottest city of Oodnadatta has summer highs that would make any Phoenix native guffaw in amusement.
I also realize that Melbourne has recorded Phoenix-like temperatures but one must look at the averages, not at the record highs.
Sorry, this is so far from the truth I had to trim your post to bring attention to its faults.
Australia is very, very warm. Here are the average maximum temperatures over the course of a year:
As you can see almost half the country as an annual average in excess of 30C and almost two thirds in excess of 27C.
Now let's turn to summer:
As you can almost half the country has a maximum in excess of 36C and large areas are in excess of 39C.
Lastly, Oodnadatta is not Australia's hottest city; far from it. A little work at the keyboard will give you the answer. Try googling a little bit more before rushing to post next time.
Strange how nobody even mentioned how mild Australia is. Even the US south has recorded lower maximum highs than some of these cities in AUS: Hobart ................ 4.3C (this city is on the same latitude of NYC)
coast here)
Hobart has the same low maximum as here, although it's minimum is about 5 C higher.
NYC is two and a half degrees of latitude closer to the equator, than Hobart. My town or Wellington is closer match to NYC, at about half a degree of latitude further from the equator.
Sorry, this is so far from the truth I had to trim your post to bring attention to its faults.
Australia is very, very warm. Here are the average maximum temperatures over the course of a year:
Who cares about maximum averages? I'm referring to averages. You're very cleverly leaving out the night temperatures, knowing well that without those figures included, your post has no foundation.
Secondly, the fact that half the country has average highs exceeding 30 C is by no means impressive by global standards.
Here's a comparison for the United States. The warmest areas with an average annual maximum greater than 80F (26.7C) just barely cling on to the southernmost reaches of the country. As a reminder, almost two thirds of Australia matches or exceeds this.
Nowhere in the US has an average annual maximum in excess of 33C. Vast areas of Australia, roughly equivalent to the areas of California and Texas combined exceed this threshold.
Why are you comparing Australia with the United States, Ed? Not sure what your point is, if any. Australia lies between latitudes 9 and 44 degrees S. The southernmost point in the US, Key West, is at 24 degrees and much of the country is well north of this. I would expect the US to have much lower annual temperatures and winter temperatures, so your post doesn't exactly surprise me. Compare Australia with say, India (8 degrees N to 37 degrees N, a more comparable latitude range to Australia) and you'll see my point.
Who cares about maximum averages? I'm referring to averages. You're very cleverly leaving out the night temperatures, knowing well that without those figures included, your post has no foundation.
Here's the mean annual temperature in Australia with the US posted for comparison:
As you can see (again!) more than half the country has a mean annual temperature greater than 21C (70F). Only the southernmost fringe of the US approaches this. Huge areas of tropical Australia have annual means greater than 24C and significant areas greater than 27C.
Quote:
Originally Posted by arctic_gardener
Secondly, the fact that half the country has average highs exceeding 30 C is by no means impressive by global standards.
It is when you consider the size of the country. Half of Australia is 3.8 milllion square kilometers. That area alone is bigger than India and would qualify for the 7th largest country in the world.
Why are you comparing Australia with the United States, Ed? Not sure what your point is, if any. Australia lies between latitudes 9 and 44 degrees S. The southernmost point in the US, Key West, is at 24 degrees and much of the country is well north of this. I would expect the US to have much lower annual temperatures and winter temperatures, so your post doesn't exactly surprise me. Compare Australia with say, India (8 degrees N to 37 degrees N, a more comparable latitude range to Australia) and you'll see my point.
You said:
Quote:
It annoys me when people insist that Australia is "warm". It isn't. Nor is it cool. It's mild.
and as an Australian by birth I feel compelled to correct this fallacy.
I'm using the US as a comparison to give you a frame of reference. Nowhere in Canada even comes close so I don't even bother looking there. I figure as a Canadian you are likely familiar somewhat with the US so it hopefully serves as a useful comparison.
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