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The best I would have to say is somewhere such as Darwin, Australia. Very sunny with 3000hrs of sun, and a wet season with the excitement of thunderstorms and heavy rain, and the dry season with predictable sunny and warm weather.
Worst: Lima, Peru. Kept nasty and cool by the cold ocean currents of the East Pacific and also very cloudy. Hardly "tropical". Other rubbish ones would be ones at elevation like Quito, Ecuador.
Why people live in Quito baffles me! What a miserable climate. And in the tropics?
Would have to disagree with you there….much below 20 latitude tropical climates lose their luster fast for me.
While Jamaica is a nice tropical climate (and not far from 20 latitude anyway)…but it is only so because it’s breezy narrow island right in the heart of the trade winds (17 north), with fleeting precip, and mostly sunny/dry conditions. Try living in a deep interior tropical area at 12 o 7 N/S (lol). Once you get into interior deep tropical stations much below 18/20 N/S insects/dampness/less sun/and little wind are the rule. That’s a pretty lousy climate picture to most people. Malaria anyone. We had a family friend move to Coasta Rica with his family from the states...they came running back home with bug bites and said they spent as little time outside as possible.
Tropical climates between 20/25 offer the best of both worlds: You have dry winters, blazing sunshine, warm temps (still upper 70’s to low 80’s day…60’s at night in the middle of winter), and those old reliable trade winds make it feel like paradise. If your by the coast like Rio or Miami it ‘s a A !
But Rio and Miami get cold winters, by Jamaican standards.
I have no personal experience being closer than about 18 degrees from the equator,
but on cruises, I always notice once we approach or pass the 20th parallel.
It's why Bahamas and Turks are "springlike" but Puerto Rico is where you start to get the year-round summer vibe.
Why are we comparing inland?
I probably dislike all continental climates, compared to the best island climates of similar latitudes.
If Jamaica is an anomaly perhaps it's the best tropical climate.
It was quite green, yet I hardly ever saw rain.
Tropical climates between 20/25 offer the best of both worlds: You have dry winters, blazing sunshine, warm temps (still upper 70’s to low 80’s day…60’s at night in the middle of winter), and those old reliable trade winds make it feel like paradise. If your by the coast like Rio or Miami it ‘s a A !
Agreed. Given genuine choice, these are the only alternatives to Mediterranean or arid/semiarid flavours that I would consider. Those sensitive types who think they can get "cold" thereby can inhabit the steambath locations!
Agreed. Given genuine choice, these are the only alternatives to Mediterranean or arid/semiarid flavours that I would consider. Those sensitive types who think they can get "cold" thereby can inhabit the steambath locations!
Don’t get me wrong - I do enjoy the sultry hot conditions of tropical/subtropical climates – but the non-stop 12 months of such weather often proves to be too much. Although I’ve never been to Rio (and perhaps Hong Kong is a bit colder than I realized based on the comments of Deb above)… I’ve lived in Miami/SF on/off and visit family there often (esp. - between Dec – March).
The deepest of winters in these latitudes is hard to beat weather-wise; Daily highs from 25 – 27 C (75 – 79 F) …lows in the 15 C/60 F range…dry…and blazing sunshine. On average, perhaps 5 nights a year will fall below 10 C (50 F) in Miami/Rio…and for only a small number of hours.
In a climatic sense, in winter Aw climates like Miami/Rio/Calcutta..etc share more with BWh climates (hot subtropical deserts), with their aridity, blazing sunshine, warm days/mild nights, than the wet tropics. Stations much below 18 N/S never really see dew points drop off that much. Although there are a fair number of over 80 F/26 C days in the middle of winter in Miami/SF, the dry air makes the heat really perfect for any outdoor activity. I’ve actually gotten a better tan in Feburary than in May/June because I’ve simply fallen asleep on the beach in the sun the weather was so perfect (lol). I think stations are a good mix of “tropical lite” – lol. You get enough of the hot/wet season to “feel it” but then a break comes when the trades/low dew points in winter move in.
In a climatic sense, in winter Aw climates like Miami/Rio/Calcutta..etc share more with BWh climates (hot subtropical deserts), with their aridity, blazing sunshine, warm days/mild nights, than the wet tropics.
Calcutta doesn't really belong with the other two; it's much hotter and humid. Calcutta has several months with average highs above 90°F (up to 95°F) which is worse than you might expect with the humidity. Compared to Miami, Calcutta's (non-humid season — in my definition when the lows are below 70°F) is 4 months compared to Miami's 6 months. And many of Calcutta's months have lows 78/79.
Calcutta gets rather poor sunshine (2100 hours), only a bit more than Seattle. But so does Rio.
Don’t get me wrong - I do enjoy the sultry hot conditions of tropical/subtropical climates – but the non-stop 12 months of such weather often proves to be too much. Although I’ve never been to Rio (and perhaps Hong Kong is a bit colder than I realized based on the comments of Deb above)… I’ve lived in Miami/SF on/off and visit family there often (esp. - between Dec – March).
The deepest of winters in these latitudes is hard to beat weather-wise; Daily highs from 25 – 27 C (75 – 79 F) …lows in the 15 C/60 F range…dry…and blazing sunshine. On average, perhaps 5 nights a year will fall below 10 C (50 F) in Miami/Rio…and for only a small number of hours.
In a climatic sense, in winter Aw climates like Miami/Rio/Calcutta..etc share more with BWh climates (hot subtropical deserts), with their aridity, blazing sunshine, warm days/mild nights, than the wet tropics. Stations much below 18 N/S never really see dew points drop off that much. Although there are a fair number of over 80 F/26 C days in the middle of winter in Miami/SF, the dry air makes the heat really perfect for any outdoor activity. I’ve actually gotten a better tan in Feburary than in May/June because I’ve simply fallen asleep on the beach in the sun the weather was so perfect (lol). I think stations are a good mix of “tropical lite” – lol. You get enough of the hot/wet season to “feel it” but then a break comes when the trades/low dew points in winter move in.
Calcutta doesn't really belong with the other two; it's much hotter and humid. Calcutta has several months with average highs above 90°F (up to 95°F) which is worse than you might expect with the humidity. Compared to Miami, Calcutta's (non-humid season — in my definition when the lows are below 70°F) is 4 months compared to Miami's 6 months. And many of Calcutta's months have lows 78/79.
Calcutta gets rather poor sunshine (2100 hours), only a bit more than Seattle. But so does Rio.
Wikipedia labels Miami as a Am climate.
Yes, Rio's sunshine is not fantastic - but the beach scene, the atmosphere and the fabulous setting make it special - despite the obvious shortcomings. Very hard to resist.
Location: The western periphery of Terra Australis
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I would say Hawaii and the Galapagos Islands. Hilo has unusually mild daytime highs for a tropical climate, although it's too wet. Honolulu is a bit hot, for being so oceanic, but parts of the Big Island seem to have a very equitable climate. The Galapagos is unusually cool because of the cold ocean current, but conditions on the island would be perfect.
In the outer tropics some of the islands in the South Pacific like the Cook Islands. I'm not sure if Norfolk Island is in the tropics but it would be another contender.
Worst would be parts of India, Pakistan, southern Arabia, northwestern Australia, Somalia, Ethiopia. All very hot most/all of the year.
Location: The western periphery of Terra Australis
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Quote:
Originally Posted by wavehunter007
^^
Would have to disagree with you there….much below 20 latitude tropical climates lose their luster fast for me.
While Jamaica is a nice tropical climate (and not far from 20 latitude anyway)…but it is only so because it’s breezy narrow island right in the heart of the trade winds (17 north), with fleeting precip, and mostly sunny/dry conditions. Try living in a deep interior tropical area at 12 o 7 N/S (lol). Once you get into interior deep tropical stations much below 18/20 N/S insects/dampness/less sun/and little wind are the rule. That’s a pretty lousy climate picture to most people. Malaria anyone. We had a family friend move to Coasta Rica with his family from the states...they came running back home with bug bites and said they spent as little time outside as possible.
Tropical climates between 20/25 offer the best of both worlds: You have dry winters, blazing sunshine, warm temps (still upper 70’s to low 80’s day…60’s at night in the middle of winter), and those old reliable trade winds make it feel like paradise. If your by the coast like Rio or Miami it ‘s a A !
Maybe warm, coastal humid tropical climates on the east coasts of continents, but places at that latitude often have some of the worst sustained heat anywhere in the world. I'm thinking places near the tropics themselves, like Dubai, UAE, Marble Bar, Australia, places in the Mexican desert. Horrible climates. 20-25 is classic 'desert zone' through much of the world.
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