What are the differences in climate between China and Sydney?
Sydney has a subtropical humid climate with rainfall throughout the year. Sydney's weather is moderated by the adjacent ocean, so the inland western suburbs are slightly more continental. The warmest month is January, with temperatures in coastal areas ranging from 18.6°C to 25.8°C, and there are an average of 14.6 days in the year above 30°C. The highest recorded temperature was 45.3°C on January 14, 1939, at the end of a nationwide heat wave lasting 4 days. Summers are slightly cooler, with temperatures rarely dropping below 5°C in coastal areas. The coldest month is July, with average extreme values of 8.0°C–16.2°C. The lowest minimum recorded was 2.1°C. Rainfall is fairly even in summer and winter, with slightly higher rainfall in the first half of the year due to moderate easterly winds. The average annual rainfall is 1217.0 mm, which is moderate and does not change much. There are an average of 138.0 days of rainfall in the year. There was a snowfall in the Sydney area in 1830.
Although Sydney will not experience cyclones or major earthquakes, El Niño or El Niño Southern Oscillation is affecting Sydney's weather conditions: drought and bushfires on the one hand, storms and flooding on the other , a combination of two aspects opposite to oscillation. Sydney has many areas adjacent to forest that have experienced bushfires, particularly in 1994 and 2002 - bushfires tend to occur in spring and summer. Sydney is prone to rare hailstorms and violent winds.
China is very large and has a complex climate. Here we select Beijing, Shanghai, and Haikou for comparison:
Beijing’s climate: The main characteristic of Beijing’s climate is the four distinct seasons. The spring is dry, the summer is hot and rainy, the autumn is high and the air is cool, and the winter is cold and dry; the wind direction has obvious seasonal changes, with northwest wind prevailing in winter and southeast wind prevailing in summer. The climate characteristics of the four seasons are as follows:
Spring: The temperature rises quickly, the temperature difference between day and night is large, and it is dry and windy. In spring, as the sun's altitude angle gradually increases, the daytime lengthens, and the heat gained by the ground exceeds the expenditure, so the temperature rises rapidly. The monthly average temperature can rise by 9-6°C, with the average temperature in March being 4.5°C and April being 13.1°C. The temperature is high during the day, while radiation cooling is strong and the temperature is low at night. This is the season with the largest temperature difference between day and night. Generally, the daily temperature range is 12-14℃, with the maximum daily temperature range reaching 16.8℃. In addition, cold air activities are still very frequent in spring. Due to the rapid cooling, "late spring cold" weather appears, which is easy to form late frost. It is not very windy, and the number of windy days above level 8 accounts for 40% of the total number of days in the year. When strong winds occur, they are often accompanied by floating dust, blowing sand, and sandstorms. The sparse precipitation in spring aggravates the spring drought, which is known as "spring drought nine times out of ten years".
Summer: The summer is hot and the rainfall is concentrated, resulting in rain and heat in the same season. In summer, except for mountainous areas, the average monthly temperature in plain areas is above 24°C. Although the hottest month is not June, the most extreme temperatures occur in June. Entering midsummer, July is the hottest month of the year, with an average temperature close to 26°C. The high temperature is long-lasting and stable, and the temperature difference between day and night is small. Summer precipitation accounts for 70% of the annual precipitation, and mostly occurs in the form of heavy rain. Therefore, mountainous areas are prone to flash floods, plains are prone to floods, and heavy rains are one of the major natural disasters in Beijing in summer. In addition, thermal convection in mountainous areas is strong, causing thundershowers in some areas, accompanied by hail, causing certain losses to agriculture.
Autumn: The sky is high and the air is crisp, the temperature is suitable, and the sunshine is sufficient. After autumn, the cold air from the north begins to invade and the temperature drops rapidly. Therefore, the premature arrival of first frost occurs.
Winter: cold and long. Winter lasts for 5 months. If the average temperature is below 0℃, it is considered severe winter, and it lasts for 3 months (December-February). In mid-winter, the average temperature in the plain areas is below -4℃, in the mountainous areas it is below -8℃, and the extreme minimum temperature in the plains is -27.4℃. Winter precipitation accounts for 2% of the annual precipitation, and there are often no precipitation (snow) records for more than one month in a row. Although winter is cold and dry, there is plenty of sunshine, with an average of more than 6 hours of sunshine a day, creating favorable conditions for the development and utilization of solar energy.
Shanghai’s climate: Shanghai is located in the eastern part of the Yangtze River Delta where the rivers and seas meet. It is located in the north subtropical region where the East Asian monsoon prevails, and has a north subtropical monsoon climate. Shanghai is affected by the advance and retreat of the winter and summer monsoons. The winter northwest wind prevails from November to February of the following year, and the climate is cold and dry. The summer southeast wind prevails from April to August, which is warm, hot and humid. However, in July and August, the northwest Pacific subtropical high pressure directly controls Under monsoon conditions, southwesterly winds, high temperatures, and dry weather sometimes occur; March and the early period from September to October are the transition seasons for the monsoon transition, generally dominated by northeasterly and easterly winds, with more low-temperature, cloudy, and rainy weather.
Shanghai’s main climate characteristics are: cold winters and hot summers, with four distinct seasons, but there are often cold currents in winter; rain and heat are in the same season, with abundant precipitation, but with large variability; light and temperature are coordinated, with more sunshine, but year-round The environment is changeable. According to the meteorological data statistics of Shanghai (1873-1994), the annual average temperature is 15.5℃, with January being the coldest, with an average temperature of 3.4℃; July being the hottest, with an average temperature of 27.5℃. The last frost is on April 1st and the first frost is on November 16th. The average frost-free period is 228 days. The accumulated temperature above 10℃ is 4934℃/day, second only to the Sichuan Basin and the areas south of Hangzhou, Anqing, Wuhan and Yichang. The average total annual precipitation is 1149.8 mm, and the number of precipitation days is 131. The average monthly rainfall from April to September is more than 100 mm, and the total rainfall in these six months accounts for about 70% of the annual total.
June and September are two obviously rainy months.
The monthly rainfall reaches more than 150 mm, which are caused by plum rains and autumn rains (including tropical cyclones) respectively; the sunshine in each month is more than 150 hours. , among which there are more sunshine during the high temperature and drought periods in July and August, reaching 251 and 260 hours respectively. The climate in October is cool, with more sunshine and less rain, and a large temperature difference between day and night.
In summary: The climate in Shanghai has three characteristics.
1. Cold winters and hot summers, four distinct seasons, but cold currents are common
2. Rain and heat are in the same season, with abundant precipitation, but the variability is large
3 , coordinated light and heat, more sunshine, but variable between years
Haikou climate: Haikou City is located at 19°57′04″-20°05′11″ north latitude, 110°10′18″ east longitude -110°23′05〃, located in the northern part of Hainan Island. It borders the Qiongzhou Strait to the north, faces the mainland 18 nautical miles away, borders Qiongshan City to the southeast, and Chengmai County to the west. Haikou City is located at the northern edge of the low-latitude tropics and belongs to a monsoon hot climate zone. The annual average temperature in Haikou City is 23.8, the highest average temperature is 28.0, and the lowest average temperature is 18.8. There are 346 frost-free days per year, and there is no ice or snow all year round. The average annual sunshine hours are 2225.2 hours.