A DISCOURSE ABOUT WEATHER.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 20484, 11 August 1928, Page 4

A DISCOURSE ABOUT WEATHER.

HEALTHY GREAT BRITAIN. NEW ZEALAND THE CHALLENGER. (From Otjr Own Correspondent.) LONDON, June 30. A weather expert sets forth in the Daily Mail facts to prove that the climatic conditions in the Mother Country during the five months (153 days), May-September, are almost ideal. From 1900 to 1927 on the average each summer has produced 131 days out of the 153 on which the temperature has exceeded COdeg at Kew (London). Of these 131 days 50 have reached 70, eight 80, and eight 90, or more than 90 degrees. Again, if the usual normal period is taken, that of 1881 to 1915, the mean daily maximum for the summer months is 67deg F., while the minimum is 50.6 deg F., giving a daily mean temperature for every day in this period of 58.8 deg F. July on the -whole gives the highest daily maximum, namely, 71.0 deg F. It has a minimum of 54.3 deg F., and a mean temperature of 62.7. From a temperature point of view nothing better could be wished for, as the ideal temperature in a living room lies between aCdeg and OOdeg F., or say, 58deg, which corresponds with that experienced of SS.Sdeg. F. What of sunshine? The sunless or dull days are more easily remembered than the bright ones. Nevertheless, the average daily sunshine for the period 1900 to 1927 works out for Kew at 6.1 hours each day, and this is no less than 40 per cent, of the possible. On taking the longer period, 1886 to 1915, the mean daily sunshine over the summer months averages 6.08 hours per day. Again, for really sunny days, days with over nine hours’ sunshine, the summers from 1900 to 1927 gave an average of 42 dpys. EVENLY DISTRIBUTED RAIN. The remaining factor, which usually spoils the summer and gives rise to its bad name, is rain. In the period 1900 to 1927 each summer on the average had 62 rainy days, while from 1886 to 1915 the average was 61, so that both agree very well as to the number of rainy days that may be expected (a rainy day has been counted as such if there fell .01 inch of rain or more, .01, a hundredth of an inch, being a very small amount). The amount of rain varies greatly from year to year, but the mean total for the live summer months works out at 10.15 inches, or a little more than two inches per month, and this amount is very evenly distributed. AS GOOD AS NEW ZEALAND. An important feature in the rainfall measurements is that a large proportion of the rain falls during the night hours, and these figures include the night rainfall as well as that of the day. Is it any wonder, the Expert asks, that the English countryside during the summer months always seems fresh? It is watered regularly—on an average it has two inches of rain per month—it has six hours mean sunshine every day, and a mean temperature of nearly 59deg F. There are no healthier or better summer climatic conditions in the world than the British Isles. The only real challenger is New Zealand. In parts this is perhaps better, but on the average its summer conditions are really no improvement on our own.