I’m in New Zealand. My good friend is in Melbourne.
In the part of New Zealand I’m in, we’ve had some really got days. Like, not coping, many cases of heat stroke etc.
Whereas, heat like that is more normal for him. Is there a reason that 25°c is hotter here in NZ than Australia?
In: 15
More UV radiation is getting through, due to a thinner ozone layer and clean air.
The Ministry of the Environment have a good explainer:
*The thickness of the ozone layer in the atmosphere varies seasonally. At mid-latitudes, such as New Zealand, it is thickest during spring and thinnest during autumn. This means the ozone layer over New Zealand thins during summer, providing less protection from UV sunlight when we are closest to the sun and the sun is highest in the sky. Moreover, our summertime ozone layer is thinner than the summertime ozone layer experienced at corresponding Northern Hemisphere latitudes.*
*The air in New Zealand tends to be clearer than that in many other locations. UV sunlight travelling through the atmosphere to Earth’s surface is scattered or absorbed by clouds and aerosols (air pollution).*
As a result of this, in summer, daytime levels of UV are often extreme on UV indexes. So you can have a lower temperature than Oz, but a higher UV level. Hence it feels hotter.
Source: [https://environment.govt.nz/publications/our-atmosphere-and-climate-2017/exposure-to-ultraviolet-sunlight/new-zealands-uv-levels/#:~:text=At%20mid%2Dlatitudes%2C%20such%20as,is%20highest%20in%20the%20sky](https://environment.govt.nz/publications/our-atmosphere-and-climate-2017/exposure-to-ultraviolet-sunlight/new-zealands-uv-levels/#:~:text=At%20mid%2Dlatitudes%2C%20such%20as,is%20highest%20in%20the%20sky).
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