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Here are two climates that are at approximately the same distance from the equator, have roughly the same average annual mean temperature and even the same average annual precipitation. NYC is quite a bit sunnier though.
Which would you choose?
I'd choose Wellington for sure because the record low temperature (-1.9°C) is higher than NYC's average low temperature in its coldest month
Here are two climates that are at approximately the same distance from the equator, have roughly the same average annual mean temperature and even the same average annual precipitation. NYC is quite a bit sunnier though.
Which would you choose?
I'd choose Wellington for sure because the record low temperature (-1.9°C) is higher than NYC's average low temperature in its coldest month
The Wellington data is already out of date - the 30-year sunshine mean is 2113 hours, not 2066. Also, note that the site used is 126m ASL - the mean at sea level is 0.9C (1.6F) higher.
The windiness is notorious, though it's less well-known that there are suburban pockets that are quite sheltered, because of the complicated topography - I live in one of them but can walk to the middle of the CBD in 15 minutes through a garden setting. Beaches located on the coasts northwest of the city are reasonably warm, unlike those facing Cook Strait and most of the east coast ones as far north as Napier. Air quality is far superior to that in most cities, unsurprisingly. With the possible exception of Rio and San Francisco, I rate the harbour views as much better than any others I've seen. The CBD is compact and easy to walk around.
As an after thought - nothing I've seen in movie scenes and other images around NYC suggests that air quality has improved all that much. I had a great stay there in the late 60s and will go back one day - but the pollution then looked really bad. Melbourne - in much more recent times - did not impress in that regard either.
Here are two climates that are at approximately the same distance from the equator, have roughly the same average annual mean temperature and even the same average annual precipitation.
Interesting observation - I'd never noticed that. As for which climate I'd prefer, I have to call it a draw. A humid New York summer without many/any cool spells wouldn't be for me, as it's been mentioned before on this forum that the hottest month ever in London would be one of the coolest Julys ever in New York if not the coolest. Whereas on the other hand Wellington has a winter cool enough to be a minor nuisance yet with little/no chance of actual winter weather - I don't see the point in that to be honest, but at least it's not too far from guaranteed snow in the mountains. I'd prefer Wellington's changeable maritime day-to-day weather to big winter temperature swings, but I'd imagine NYC gets more thunderstorms as well as big snowstorms and generally more interesting weather phenomena. 2113 hours or 2535 hours of sun doesn't matter to me as either would be more than I've ever seen in a year. Too close to call.
Wellington looks pretty stable, but I don't think I could live with a 70*F high as the warmest time of the year, probably a slim chance at a heat wave as well. New York because it has a few months of tropical weather.
Interesting observation - I'd never noticed that. As for which climate I'd prefer, I have to call it a draw. A humid New York summer without many/any cool spells wouldn't be for me, as it's been mentioned before on this forum that the hottest month ever in London would be one of the coolest Julys ever in New York if not the coolest. Whereas on the other hand Wellington has a winter cool enough to be a minor nuisance yet with little/no chance of actual winter weather - I don't see the point in that to be honest, but at least it's not too far from guaranteed snow in the mountains. I'd prefer Wellington's changeable maritime day-to-day weather to big winter temperature swings, but I'd imagine NYC gets more thunderstorms as well as big snowstorms and generally more interesting weather phenomena. 2113 hours or 2535 hours of sun doesn't matter to me as either would be more than I've ever seen in a year. Too close to call.
It should also be noted that in the adjoining Hutt Valley, mean summer maxima are about 2C higher, mean winter minima 3C lower. Over the nearby Rimutaka hills in southern Wairarapa there is a drier climate (800mm per year at Martinborough) with a much larger diurnal range, though surprisingly the climate is not noticeably sunnier.
Location: The western periphery of Terra Australis
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Very hard to say...Wellington sounds pretty awful most of the year. With those gusty winds you'd need to bring a jacket out pretty much all the time. At least NYC gets some balmy weather. I can't believe I'm saying this but I might be leaning to New York. I think Wellington is one of the worst climates in NZ. Even Dunedin might be preferable.
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