Autumn Falls in Australia Too!
Australia is a continent that experiences a variety of climates due to its size. The temperature can range from below zero in the Snowy Mountains in southern Australia to extreme heat in the Kimberley region in the north-west of the continent.
Bureau of Meteorology, major climatic zones
Due to the size of the continent, there is not one single seasonal calendar for the entire continent. Instead there are six climatic zones and this translates as two main seasonal patterns.
There is a Summer / Autumn / Winter / Spring pattern in the Temperate zone, also affecting the Desert and the Grassland climatic zones and, a Wet / Dry pattern in the tropical north which includes the Equatorial, Tropical and sub-tropical zones.
Depending upon where you are each Month, the season will vary on whether the weather is defined by the Temperate zone seasons or the tropical seasons.
Climatic zonesThe temperate zone: a Summer / Autumn / Winter / Spring patternThe Temperate zone occupies the coastal hinterland of New South Wales, much of Victoria, Tasmania, the south-eastern corner of South Australia and the south-west of Western Australia. The seasons in the temperate zone are described in terms of European seasons applied to the southern hemisphere in the following sequence:
Summer: December to February
Autumn: March to May
Winter: June to August
Spring: September to November
This means that the Australian Christmas takes place at the height of summer. It also means that the mid-year break for students happens in winter. The long end of year break for students is commonly known as the 'summer holidays', or the 'Christmas holidays'.
Fall in Australia, or the Australian autumn depending on which word you prefer, runs through March, April and May. With it, the super hot weather fades away, but it isn't until around May when you really feel as though winter is approaching for the non-tropical areas of Australia.
Autumn is a fantastic time to explore Australia, and I actually recommend these months over high summer when it is sometimes too hot and too crowded to fully enjoy yourself. In autumn, the sun shines strong and many people still head to the beach. It's also helpful that many of the flights to Australia will drop in price a bit from those of the summer months.
In the tropical north areas of Australia, such as Cairns and Cooktown, the wet season is still leaving its mark, producing highly humid weather adding to the already hot temperatures. It won't be until the winter months that this humidity drops to a more manageable level. You can still visit these areas though; just be prepared to sweat a bit more than normal, drink plenty of fluids and jump into a swimming hole now and again.
If you're a wine lover, then autumn is a perfect opportunity for a visit to the Yarra Valley or Hunter Valley for a tasting getaway. Check out the Australian tours page for more touring ideas involving the grape. There are also a number of food and wine festivals happening during this season.
FUN FACTS ABOUT AUTUMN: IT'S GETTING COLDER HERE!
It is that time of the year again in which we start wearing our coats and rain proof clothes in the northern hemisphere. But what is autumn all about?
Autumn marks the transition from summer into winter, when days start to get shorter and tree leaves start to fall. Here are some interesting facts about autumn:
What happens to plants?
Plants use sunlight to create nutrients and feed themselves, keeping their green color. As the days become shorter and plants get less sunshine, they stop producing those nutrients and display a different color. Yellow and oranges sit below the green all the time and red and brown are made from waste and nutrients trapped in them.
On the first day of autumn, the sun is aligned with the center between the North and the South of the planet. On that day, the light and dark hours are exactly the same length. That's why it is called 'equinox', derived from the Latin word 'aequus' which means 'equal'.
Standing eggs?
There are only two days of the year when you can stand an egg on its end, the autumn and spring equinox. To do this you will need an egg. (It does not have to be hard-boiled.) Place the egg on a hard, flat surface on its largest end. Carefully pull your hands away and it should remain upright.
Not everyone has seasons at the same time! The equinox happens twice a year, and depending on which side of the planet you live, autumn will start in March (for south) or September (for north).No autumn ever!
If you live in a place too close to the Equator, or central area of the planet, then you'll never have autumn… or any season!
People around the world
Americans call autumn 'fall', maybe for obvious reasons? On the October 31, many places around the world celebrate Halloween, in which kids dress up in costumes and go trick-or-treating. The U.S. and Canada have had a significant impact on how the event is observed in other nations and it has extended to places such as South America, Australia, New Zealand, continental Europe, Japan, and other parts of East Asia. The pumpkin, commonly used as lanterns by carving scary faces into them during Halloween, was first named by people in Greece, who called this orange edible a "pepon," which means "large melon".
Text by nohelia.