Winter solstice arrives in Australia, but the coldest days may still be coming
The winter daytime occurs when the sun reaches the northernmost point in the sky, just above the cancer tropics. For people in the southern hemisphere, this means that the sun sits lower in the sky and shrinks to the minimum of daylight hours.
On Saturday, cities in Australia will see a very short day. Hobart will take more than nine hours of sunlight, Melbourne and Canberra a little more and Sydney will be slightly lower than it. In contrast, Darwin, who is closer to the equator, will enjoy the daylight for eleven and a half hours.
Why isn’t it cold right after the day?
Although the sun is at the lowest point in the sky, temperatures do not immediately hit the lowest level. This is because it is a seasonal delay.
The surface of the Earth, especially oceans, takes time to lose heat. The ocean acts like a thermal blanket. It absorbs the temperature of the sun in long summer days and slowly releases in the following months.
Even now, weeks after the end of autumn, Australia’s surrounding oceans are still releasing the temperature remaining.
This real delays the winter cooler. Therefore, although it has at least daylight on June 21, most of the Australians will not feel cold until July.
Where will it be the coldest and when?
In southern and coastal cities such as Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth and Brisbane, the coldest mornings usually come to the middle of July. These areas are largely affected by the nearby oceans with medium temperature changes.
However, the inner and desert regions such as those in Central Australia do not experience the same delay. These areas are cooling much faster because they do not have large water bodies. As a result, some of the coldest nights can only come, even before the day, even before.
What about write?
The same seasonal delay occurs in the summer months. The longest day of the year does not bring the hottest temperatures in December. Instead, January, land and sea tend to be the summit of summer heat when absorbs the most energy from the sun.
Although June 21 will celebrate the official semi -point of the Sun year, the coldest winter phase is still ahead for most Australia. Short -day light times, longer nights and fading ocean temperature means that it will feel the most dull until the beginning of July -August.
