In short, in Nice, we walk in shirts and Bermuda shorts, in New York, we must keep gloves and hat. However, the two cities are at the same latitude, in other words at the same height from the equator. They therefore have exactly the same amount of sunshine. By the way, they also have the same altitude: one with its feet in the Mediterranean, the other in the Atlantic Ocean. So why ?
Because of the winds
I will not teach you that the earth turns on itself. In the northern hemisphere (therefore in Nice and New York), the winds generally blow from west to east. Example in France: the winds come more often from Brittany than from Alsace. Consequently, they are loaded with humidity, since the sea air passes over the sea. These winds carry molecules of water, vapor, and gradually form clouds.
In New York, the winds also blow from the west. And west of New York, there is no ocean: it is the land of America itself, the continent.
The seas moderate the climate, like a giant radiator
They reduce climatic variations. Obviously, the water can hardly physically drop below its glacial temperature, while Kansas or Wisconsin regularly experience nights at -20 °.
New York therefore lives in a continental climate, freezing in winter and stifling in summer. As in Europe in Moscow or Madrid. There is even a Spanish proverb that sums up the capital’s climate well: “Six months of winter, Six months of hell “. Translation : “Madrid, six months of winter, six months of hell “…
Back to the United States. While we shiver in New York, the sweetness reigns on the West Coast, from San Francisco to Los Angeles. This time thanks to the Pacific.
In France, the cold records do not come from the Alps or the Pyrenees, but from Franche-Comté in the Doubs department. Precisely in the town of Mouthe. This region is called “Little Siberia”. Météo France recorded -36.7 ° C there in January 68.
In Nice, we laugh. Gently. So as not to upset New Yorkers.
Until proven otherwise…
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