Climate
Wikipedia: http://www.wikipedia.com.au accessed 6/08/14.
Consisting of a large island in the Southern Hemisphere, Australia has many different climate zones ranging from tropical conditions in the north to temperate conditions in the south. Weather throughout Australia is affected by numerous factors such as temperature, precipitation, humidity, wind direction, speed, pressure and seasons. Australia’s climate changes in temperature depending on the four seasons: Autumn, winter, spring and summer. However, one variable that never changes is Australia’s dryness; approximately 2/3 of Australia’s land is considered semi-desert to desert. This means that rainfall is extremely low and often unreliable. 80% of land receives less than 600 millimetres of rainfall per year and 50% of Australian land receives less than 300 millimetres! Climate throughout Australia is grouped into different zones based on factors including temperature, rainfall and humidity. Each states climate is grouped into different climate zones including:
Temperate zones: Temperate zones are areas of the earth which lie between the tropic of cancer, Arctic Circle, tropic of Capricorn and Antarctic Circle. The majority of Victoria, Tasmania, south-eastern South Australia, Southwest Western Australia and the coastal hinterland of New South Wales all fall into this category. Temperate zones usually experience mid to temperate weather however, this can change based on rainfall throughout the year. Temperate zones follow European seasons which applies to the Southern Hemisphere, these seasons include summer: December to February, autumn: March to May, winter: June to August and spring: September to November. Grasslands which surround arid and semi-arid areas and Desert areas are also affected temperate seasons.
Tropical zones: The tropical zone is considered the warmest zone on the Earth and experiences hot and humid weather. The tropical climate experiences quite a lot of rainfall and experiences frequent thunderstorms due to the convection of air. This rainfall in conjunction with frequent sunshine means perfect growing conditions for numerous forms of vegetation. Tropical temperatures usually range between 20-35 degrees and due to restriction of heat loss due to cloud cover, rarely fall any lower than around 20-22 degrees. Seasons in a tropical climate are usually distinguished based off amount of rainfall and cloudiness. This means that there are usually two wet and dry seasons per year, in the southern hemisphere the wet occurs between November and February however, in the northern hemisphere occurs from May to July. Areas of Australia which fall under tropical zones include: Cape York, Bathurst, Melville islands, the top of Northern Territory, Gulf of Carpentaria, Kimberly region, Cairns, North Queensland, New South Wales and north of Perth to Geraldton, Western Australia.
Desert zones: Dry desert climate zones are formed by high pressure zones, the heat of the ground evaporates water before it becomes rain. Dry arid desert zones cover around 70% of land and include Eastern New South Wales, Northern South Australia, Eastern Western Australia, Western Queensland and southern regions of the Northern Territory. Weather in the desert is extremely unpredictable e.g. it might not rain for months and months and then experience torrential rain which results in flooding! Desert zones experience hot, dry summers and extremely cold nights due to no cloud coverage and humidity. Temperatures in desert zones average between 36-39 degrees in summer and around 18-24 degrees in winter.
Subtropical zones: The Subtropical zone includes areas such as Coffs Harbour, NSW, Brisbane, Mackay, Exmouth, Broome and inland to Halls Creek. Subtropical zones have a mild climate which has low winter rainfall and reasonable summer rainfall. Temperatures in subtropical zones vary between 10-30 degrees which means that summers are usually warm and humid and winters are reasonably cold with frequent rainfall.
Grassland zones: Often found in Western Australia, South Australia and the Northern Territory, grasslands are flat areas of land which contain grass and other plants but receive little rainfall compared to other areas of Australia. Grasslands are considered quite arid due to little rainfall and are extremely hot and humid. In South Australia, grasslands tend to be hot and dry in the summer and cold in the winter, usually experiencing more rainfall during the colder months. Temperatures range between around 17 degrees in winter to around 35 degrees in summer.
Temperate zones: Temperate zones are areas of the earth which lie between the tropic of cancer, Arctic Circle, tropic of Capricorn and Antarctic Circle. The majority of Victoria, Tasmania, south-eastern South Australia, Southwest Western Australia and the coastal hinterland of New South Wales all fall into this category. Temperate zones usually experience mid to temperate weather however, this can change based on rainfall throughout the year. Temperate zones follow European seasons which applies to the Southern Hemisphere, these seasons include summer: December to February, autumn: March to May, winter: June to August and spring: September to November. Grasslands which surround arid and semi-arid areas and Desert areas are also affected temperate seasons.
Tropical zones: The tropical zone is considered the warmest zone on the Earth and experiences hot and humid weather. The tropical climate experiences quite a lot of rainfall and experiences frequent thunderstorms due to the convection of air. This rainfall in conjunction with frequent sunshine means perfect growing conditions for numerous forms of vegetation. Tropical temperatures usually range between 20-35 degrees and due to restriction of heat loss due to cloud cover, rarely fall any lower than around 20-22 degrees. Seasons in a tropical climate are usually distinguished based off amount of rainfall and cloudiness. This means that there are usually two wet and dry seasons per year, in the southern hemisphere the wet occurs between November and February however, in the northern hemisphere occurs from May to July. Areas of Australia which fall under tropical zones include: Cape York, Bathurst, Melville islands, the top of Northern Territory, Gulf of Carpentaria, Kimberly region, Cairns, North Queensland, New South Wales and north of Perth to Geraldton, Western Australia.
Desert zones: Dry desert climate zones are formed by high pressure zones, the heat of the ground evaporates water before it becomes rain. Dry arid desert zones cover around 70% of land and include Eastern New South Wales, Northern South Australia, Eastern Western Australia, Western Queensland and southern regions of the Northern Territory. Weather in the desert is extremely unpredictable e.g. it might not rain for months and months and then experience torrential rain which results in flooding! Desert zones experience hot, dry summers and extremely cold nights due to no cloud coverage and humidity. Temperatures in desert zones average between 36-39 degrees in summer and around 18-24 degrees in winter.
Subtropical zones: The Subtropical zone includes areas such as Coffs Harbour, NSW, Brisbane, Mackay, Exmouth, Broome and inland to Halls Creek. Subtropical zones have a mild climate which has low winter rainfall and reasonable summer rainfall. Temperatures in subtropical zones vary between 10-30 degrees which means that summers are usually warm and humid and winters are reasonably cold with frequent rainfall.
Grassland zones: Often found in Western Australia, South Australia and the Northern Territory, grasslands are flat areas of land which contain grass and other plants but receive little rainfall compared to other areas of Australia. Grasslands are considered quite arid due to little rainfall and are extremely hot and humid. In South Australia, grasslands tend to be hot and dry in the summer and cold in the winter, usually experiencing more rainfall during the colder months. Temperatures range between around 17 degrees in winter to around 35 degrees in summer.