Added: 05/21/2006 |
Variations of Australian temperatures with its climatic zonesAustralia is a continent that has several climatic zones on the territory due to its large size. While the weather in the Snowy Mountains can be freezing, the north-west can be attacked by the intolerable heat. The same is referred to the rainfall. It is like comparing the weather in Mexico with the weather in New York, or weather conditions of Paris with the climate of North Africa.
The temperate of the south of Australia has cool wet winters and warm dry summers with a moderate rainfall. The weather in temperate zones is quite unstable throughout the year. Typical Australian temperatures in summer, as a rule, reach no more than thirty degrees Celsius, and in winter record around fifteen degrees Celsius. In the temperate zone of Australia, the summer frequently turns into periods of heat wave or drought, while winters are normally wet, windy and quite mild, besides winters in many European countries.
The driest regions of this continent, which are normally in a state of permanent drought, are situated mostly in central Australia. These areas receive a little rainfall, and characterized by the intense heat during the day and the severe cold throughout the night. Temperatures, in general, peak forty degrees Celsius in summer and around sixteen to twenty four degrees Celsius in winter.
In the north, a tropical climate prevails. The Australian tropics have two distinct seasons: a wet and a dry season. The wet period usually takes place between December and March, lasting about six months in summer and spring. The extreme heat dominates throughout the wet season, recording thirty to fifty degrees Celsius that is much higher then in the dry period. This is caused by the high humidity during the wet, when large amounts of water fill the air. At the same time, a lot of rain frequently results in flooding.
The dry season lasts about six months in autumn and winter, regularly between May and October. The Australian temperatures in this time are lower and the amount of precipitation decrease considerably. During the dry, the north-west of the continent experiences heavy showers due to the monsoon, and the south-east attracts seasonal snow to form the Alpine snowfields.
Tourists should be aware that in some places Australia may become very cold during the winter. Though "cold" here does not stand for cold temperatures, analogous to Stockholm or Chicago cold, yet at the higher elevations in Tasmania and Victoria, snow may be abundant and the Australian temperatures are below freezing. However, usually, the temperature in the highlands does not plunge below six degrees C, allowing to arrange wonderful ski resorts in the mountains of Australia.
The Australian temperatures strongly depend on the seasons, but in general they vary between the highs of fifty degrees Celsius to the lows of sub-zero temperatures. Even the lowest Australian records cannot be compared with the extreme lows of other continents. This is partly due to the Australian landforms, which have a lack of high mountains and enjoy the presence of warming oceans around the coastal regions.
Article comments:
No comments for this article yet. Post your comment now!
