Bad climate

We went to Shenyang last weekend. My first trip outside the Great Wall. I felt rather cheated by the weather. We flew 1200 km northeast, mostly north, from Shanghai to Shenyang. The daytime high in Shenyang, a city that got 1 meter of snow early this March, was 10 degrees higher than Shanghai. It was hot. I thought Shanghai had bad climate - one wishes for summer in the winter and winter in the summer....

Now I am convinced that the whole of China is plagued by bad climate. It never fails to amaze me that this great a population density could be produced in such a bad climate. I guess mass migration is conditioned by both culture and economy.

Shanghai's Bad Climate - The Proof

Last year I published an hypothesis on this blog

Shanghai has the coldest winters of any city in the world at similar latitude and elevation.

On purpose, I published the statement with no supporting data and was a bit surprised to receive no comments, questions, challenges, nor congratulations to what I thought was a brilliant, new, and provocative insight. Sigh....

So, now with much humility, I am belatedly publishing the proof. I used data from BBC Weather comparing Shanghai's January weather to that of San Diego, New Orleans, Marrakech, and Alexandria. As a bonus, July is also included.

Here is the same data. [I've been playing with google docs again. ;-)]

rain or shine ...

It's getting bright and sunny at 30 degrees north latitude. Time to buy that summer umbrella, hat, and gloves.

Typhoon Saomai

Thanks to all who sent emails asking how we fared with Typhoon Saomai. We appreciate your concern. For the most part, the typhoon had no effect on Shanghai other than creating a few breezy, clear days, and higher than normal tides on the Huangpu River.

Watching the weather

The summers are great for weather watchers like me, especially in this era of The Weather Channel, www.noaa.gov, and internet access to local time-lapsed weather radar loops . We can follow the distant hurricane or local thunderstorm by the minute second with pin point accuracy. Not to mention digital indoor-outdoor thermometers and "weather band" radios.

Until last week I had thought that Shanghai had no local radar. But after some net surfing, I can now somewhat follow local thunderstorms from the Shanghai Meteorological Bureau radar, There's no "loop" and the range is huge but it's still weather radar.

Also, I've been tracking western Pacific cyclones at the Weather Underground. How about Typhoon Ewiniar!!!???? For 15 day forecasts I use Accuweather.

Hypothesis

Hypothesis: Shanghai has the coldest winters of any city in the world at similar latitude and elevation.

It's warming up

After 97 days in row of wearing long underwear 16 hours a day, it is finally warmed up to the point that I've only worn them twice in the last 10 days.