Why does the northern part of North America, Asia and Europe become so much colder and get so much more snow in their respective winter months than the southern part of South America during theirs?
In: Earth Science
The southern part of South America is not nearly as far from the equator as the northernmost parts of North America or Europe. Ushuaia (pronounced “oo-SWHY-uh”), Argentina (the southernmost city of any size in South America) is at about 55 degrees South, which is about the same latitude as the southernmost tip of the Alaska Panhandle, Dublin, Ireland, or Hamburg, Germany. Compare Oslo, Norway (59 N), Helsinki, Finland (60 N), or Anchorage, Alaska (61 N).
That’s half the reason. The other half is that the southern tip of South America is rather thin, which means its climate is moderated by the ocean around it. This effect is even stronger because Antarctica has a very strong current running in a circle around it that keeps antarctic waters isolated from the rest of the world’s oceans. This keeps the coldest weather isolated to Antarctica. As a result, Antarctica is *far* colder than the high Arctic: the Antarctic Peninsula at 63 S almost never goes much above freezing, while a hot day in Fairbanks, Alaska (65 N) can be hot enough to be uncomfortable. This ocean moderation is why Ushuaia (55 S) isn’t as cold as places like Moscow (55 N) that are well inland.
Are you comparing equivalent latitudes?
If you are, then one thing you may be missing is that the southern tip of South America is just not that large, so all of it is close to the ocean and gets the temperature-moderating effects of the ocean.
But another thing to remember is that South America, as well as all the other continents besides Antarctica, do not extend south of 60 degrees south, in fact there is mostly no land at that latitude. In the Northern hemisphere at those latitudes, there is land.
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