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This surprises me that Vancouver has both a longer summer season than Toronto and that summer is the longest season in Vancouver out of the 4. I would have thought spring/fall would have been the longest with a shorter summer and winter.
74 F is a very common temp - most people have experienced it many times.
The sun is just as strong here as there, the UV numbers are not much different.
Stand at 32 latitude on a south facing cliff in 119 F heat on the day of the summer solstice and they we'll talk.
Come on now, you should know better than that. The UV is higher here and combined with a clearer atmosphere, makes it quite different to what you're used to. It's probably the most typical thing people from your part of the world say about weather, when here.
Come on now, you should know better than that. The UV is higher here and combined with a clearer atmosphere, makes it quite different to what you're used to. It's probably the most typical thing people from your part of the world say about weather, when here.
I don't doubt that the UV is higher there...but the UV index are not all that much different than many areas of the USA like the desert southwest and Florida. Also, I tend to doubt that the atmosphere is "clearer" there than in many areas of the USA. The air pollution in CA is the exception not the rule - skies here are quite crystal clear every month of the year.
Finally, I would not be too happy about the UV situation in the southern Hemisphere and the big hole in the Ozone over your area; Your region has (by far) the highest rates of skin cancer on earth. We don't have to worry about that quite as much as your area does.
I don't doubt that the UV is higher there...but the UV index are not all that much different than many areas of the USA like the desert southwest and Florida. Also, I tend to doubt that the atmosphere is "clearer" there than in many areas of the USA. The air pollution in CA is the exception not the rule - skies here are quite crystal clear every month of the year.
Finally, I would not be too happy about the UV situation in the southern Hemisphere and the big hole in the Ozone over your area; Your region has (by far) the highest rates of skin cancer on earth. We don't have to worry about that quite as much as your area does.
The USA has 300 million people and places like the Northeast and Florida have tens of millions crowded into a fairly small area. NZ is two main islands and several smaller ones with 4 million people out in the middle of the largest ocean thousands of miles from anywhere. The pollution levels between the two places are no comparison. Of course NZ will have much clearer skies than almost anywhere in the USA.
The USA has 300 million people and places like the Northeast and Florida have tens of millions crowded into a fairly small area. NZ is two main islands and several smaller ones with 4 million people out in the middle of the largest ocean thousands of miles from anywhere. The pollution levels between the two places are no comparison. Of course NZ will have much clearer skies than almost anywhere in the USA.
Totally untrue:
It all matters what direction the prevailing wind comes from. In the case of Florida - the easterly winds bring in some of the cleanest air in the whole world (of the bigger countries) after traveling 6,000 miles over the ocean from West Africa. It's really only the coastal CA areas that suffer form air pollution in the USA. The skies in much of the rest of the USA are just as clean and clear (and more safe without that huge hole in Ozone they have over NZ).
It all matters what direction the prevailing wind comes from. In the case of Florida - the easterly winds bring in some of the cleanest air in the whole world (of the bigger countries) after traveling 6,000 miles over the ocean from West Africa. It's really only the coastal CA areas that suffer form air pollution in the USA. The skies in much of the rest of the USA are just as clean and clear (and more safe without that huge hole in Ozone they have over NZ).
Try again.
My understanding is that pollution referred to, isn't manmade pollution, but high altitude dust. Just within the last week, someone posted a map on one of the threads, showing the flow of high altitude dust from Africa, over North America. It's not only during summer that folks from your part of the world comment on the sun strength. It's also common during winter, which I think is due to clearer atmosphere.
I doubt there's going to be less pollutants over Florida skies, than NZ. Other factors are humidity, and the fact the the sun is closest in the southern summer by 3 million miles.
Experience it for yourself, and you would understand the blistering 23C remark. The fact that you didn't, speaks volumes.
I've been to New Zealand in December and I certainly don't remember any "blistering hot sun". Even in the sun, it only felt mild to warm. The only time I remember being hot was when I got into the car which had been sitting in the sun for hours. Having said that, I did get a little sunburn which I wouldn't have expected at such mild temperatures, indicating that the UV was pretty high. Of course, take that with a grain of salt as I was only there for a few weeks so what I experienced may have differed significantly from the norm. Though I do think that the temperatures were pretty close to average while I was there.
Of course, just because its not hot, doesn't mean there is "no summer". The same goes for winter as well, just because it's not constantly below freezing and there is not 5 feet of snow on the ground does not mean that there is "no winter" (like most of the cold lovers on here seem to think). The only climates that are seasonless in my opinion are those that have less than 5C temperature range.
I've been to New Zealand in December and I certainly don't remember any "blistering hot sun". Even in the sun, it only felt mild to warm. The only time I remember being hot was when I got into the car which had been sitting in the sun for hours. Having said that, I did get a little sunburn which I wouldn't have expected at such mild temperatures, indicating that the UV was pretty high. Of course, take that with a grain of salt as I was only there for a few weeks so what I experienced may have differed significantly from the norm. Though I do think that the temperatures were pretty close to average while I was there.
Of course, just because its not hot, doesn't mean there is "no summer". The same goes for winter as well, just because it's not constantly below freezing and there is not 5 feet of snow on the ground does not mean that there is "no winter" (like most of the cold lovers on here seem to think). The only climates that are seasonless in my opinion are those that have less than 5C temperature range.
It is variable. That's why I think humidity (or lack of) is such a big factor. To me, the classic blistering scenario, is when a deep low from the south is followed by an intensifying high. I didn't tend to think sun in Australia felt that hot, unless it was straight after rain/thunder, then it really could bake. Places where I worked in South Australia, Vic and NSW I found underwhelming in terms of sun strength, despite much hotter temperatures... but it was also variable.
According to everything I've read, the Southern Hemisphere experiences the highest UV levels in the world for only two reasons. The sun is closer to the earth in their summer, and the ozone layer is naturally(even without man made ozone destruction) thinner there. I couldn't find anything that pointed to lack of pollution being a reason. No doubt particulate matter like dust or cloud should somewhat reduce UV, but by far the primary reason is sun distance and ozone thickness.
No matter what is claimed about UV, there is not a single source out there claiming you can feel UV radiation. Any heat from the sun you feel is infra-red radiation. Global dimming due to pollution was more pronounced in the northern hemisphere, but has been on the decline year after year since 1990. Global dimming was reported worldwide, but at different levels(and higher in the N hemisphere of course). Any decrease in sun energy due to dimming would be reflected in lower temperatures. 74F feels differently based on humidity and wind and not sun energy. The energy made the temp 74. There is no real feel calc that includes intensity of the sun.
I doubt very much that 74f feels the same as 88f here due to a stronger sun. This sounds illogical to me.
And Joe, our summer sun may be slighter weaker than your summer sun, but our winter sun is slightly stronger than your winter sun for the exact same reason.
And pollution levels in the skies above the US are becoming cleaner every single year. Pollution levels have been reduced by more than half since 1980. I've never read a single travel report from an American that claimed your blue skies were more dazzling or any clearer than a blue dome day here. Of course I would think people in LA would notice, but their pollution is higher than many other places here. I would think it would be very easy to see the difference between Beijing and Auckland, but not so sure you could tell any difference when in many places in the US with much lower pollution levels.
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