by: Tom Skilling
Posted: Jul 30, 2021 / 04:29 PM CDT
Updated: Jul 30, 2021 / 04:29 PM CDT
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Dear Tom,
I have read that winters in the Southern Hemisphere are milder than winters in the Northern Hemisphere. Why would that be?
Tim Johnson,
Chicago
Dear Tim,
With the exception of Antarctica, Southern Hemisphere winters are nowhere as brutal as those north of the equator. Geography is the main reason. Huge tracts of land in the Northern Hemisphere serve as a source region for bitterly cold air masses. By comparison, only a little land beside ice-encased Antarctica falls at mid and high latitudes in the Southern Hemisphere. In fact, ocean surface occupies 81 percent of the Southern Hemisphere compared with 61 percent across the Northern Hemisphere. Oceans and marine environments act to modify temperature extremes, while temps fluctuate more rapidly over land.
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