First, a quiz question about seasons in other countries
Don't worry if you get it wrong - we'll explain the answers.
If you don't understand the question you might want to read or re-read the 'What causes the seasons' section first.
If it is Summer in Britain, what season is it in Australia?
That isn't right. While it is Summer in Britain it is Winter in Australia.
Try again
That isn't right. Remember that Britain is in the northern hemisphere and Australia is in the southern
hemisphere. We don't have the same seasons at the same time.
Try again
That isn't right. While it is Summer in Britain it is Winter in Australia.
Try again
That's right. While Britain has Summer, Australia has Winter, and vice versa.
Continue >
Seasons In Other Countries Explained (i)
Now you know that the seasons are not the same everywhere at the same time. They are affected by your latitude.
Latitude is the way we describe how far north or south you are of the Equator. It is measured in degrees.
For example, if you look at the map you can just see that Liverpool is 53° north (of the Equator), Paris is 49° north (of the Equator) and Sydney, Australia is 34° south (of the Equator).
When it is Spring in Britain, it is Autumn in Australia, and vice versa. When it is Winter in Britain, it is Summer in Australia. We all have the same calendar though, so Australians celebrate Christmas on the beach in the Summer sunshine.
Countries on the Equator don't really have seasons like us in Britain - it is hot all year round there. It gets light at around 6am and dark about 6pm where ever you are.
Seasons In Other Countries Explained (ii)
This is the SunTracker. It may help you to understand how latitude and time of year affects how the Sun appears in the sky. The SunTracker is a program that lets you track the sun in the sky for different days of the year and in different parts of the world. If you check the Winter at the North Pole you will see that there is very little daylight. The darkness can last for months. This makes it very cold (as low as -70°c has been recorded). This is followed by months of daylight. Then the Arctic becomes, "the Land of the Midnight Sun". |
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What next....?
Now we've seen how the seasons differ from country to country what would you like to do next?