Tuesday, April 10, 2018

Climate comparisons


Just saw this little map online and thought it was worth sharing. It's a map of Australia that has been divided into the climate zones of other regions around the world, just for comparison. 

 The matches aren't perfect, as the little notes panel mentions. For example, rainfall amounts may differ, but the comparisons are handy for readers internationally who understandably might struggle with figuring out if their own garden's climate is similar to that of the Aussie blogger they sometimes read.

 Here at Garden Amateur in Sydney, we're comparable to Argentina — hola Buenos Aires! — while up in Brisbane it's more like Sao Paulo. Melbourne is Fremont, Perth is Los Angeles, Darwin is Mumbai ... etc. 


The extra map below is of little Tasmania, which is not to the same scale as the map of Australia. This always happens to Tassie. It gets its own separate panel (much like Hawaii and Alaska do in maps of the USA). It's a very pleasant climate down in Tassie. The winters can be chilly but they do have the loveliest summers, especially on the east coast, which is comparable to Southern Chile.
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4 comments:

  1. MDNApril 10, 2018 at 7:49 AM

    Jamie, this is very interesting! I live in the north of Buenos Aires province and I've always read our climate is very similar to that of Sydney, with ample rain evenly distributed through the year, hot summers and short mild winters. I've learned a lot about australian climate from the extraordinary book " The new ornamental garden" by Simon Rickard. It is the ultimate guide for those who don't garden in a temperate "european-like" climate and those- who like me -stubbornly try to have an english style garden in a subtropical area.

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  2. JamieApril 10, 2018 at 12:27 PM

    Hi MDN

    I was thinking of you when I wrote "Hola Buenos Aires".

    Good luck with your English-style garden ... I am sure you must have a constant battle to keep your roses looking lovely during a humid summer.

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  3. Phil in NewcastleApril 11, 2018 at 8:35 AM

    Hi Jamie, and greetings MDN.

    I've two sisters living in Tassie. Taswegians would say the maps are in scale :0)

    It is quite interesting to view the regions compared to the world. I like to think our spring and autumns are "Mediterranean" whatever that might be.

    I always assumed our rainfall was consistent but since installing a rainwater tank and raised vege beds I'm surprised just how long our dry periods can last. A friend at Hervey Bay Qld installed three 5000 liter tanks a year ago and is yet to see them filled. Just nuisance rain (dampens the top millimeter of soil) all year, through winter and now summer.

    Surprising.

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  4. JamieApril 11, 2018 at 8:56 AM

    Hi Phil

    I've always seen Perth and Adelaide as our Mediterranean regions. Sydney tends to get decent rain every month of the year, while the Meds have "wet winter, dry summer" patterns.

    Climate maps are troublesome things. When I worked on a gardening magazine we always had people writing in nitpicking about our climate maps. The trouble is that you sometimes can have a person living just 5-10km away from your place who has a very different climate from yours.

    And you're right about the rain and dry periods. Rainwater tanks don't last long when a dry period arrives, even if you have 15,000 litres.

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