It is my (barely informed) understanding that summer is caused primarily by the larger amount of sunlight hitting that hemisphere during the season. So why is it that (in the northern hemisphere) July and August are so often hotter than June (I know it’s not always the case but usually).
Also why wouldn’t May, getting just as much direct sunlight per day as July, be as hot on average as July? Why is August even hot when the end of the month is getting close to the equinox?
In: 3
It takes time to heat up the air, oceans, and land.
In May, the entire world is cooler because it hasn’t had as much time to heat up from winter as in August. The Earth, especially the ocean, keeps the weather cooler because the water is still slowly warming up from December.
By the time August comes around, May, June, and July have been working to overcome this massive heat sink. The Earth in general, and especially the ocean, has had time to become warm. This makes it easier for the same amount of sunlight to heat up the air.
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