Latitude Maps

Why is the summer of high latitude colder than the winter of low latitude?

Why is the summer of high latitude colder than the winter of low latitude? For Example: The summer of 72°N is most likely colder than the winter of 25°N. The average temperature of the winter of 25°N can be up to 20°C. But the average temperature of the summer of 72°N could below 10°C in some places . First: The angle of sunlight decides the temperature of the surface of earth If the angle of noon sun is high, it would be hot. If the angle of noon sun is low, it would be cold. In the summer solstice of 72°N, the noon sun is 41.5° In the winter solstice of 25°N, the noon sun is 41.5° Besides this Summer of 72°N: midnight sun. (24 hours daytime) Winter of 25°N: daytime is even shorter than nighttime in one day. So Since the summer of high latitude and the winter of low latitude have the same angle of sunlight. The daytime of the summer of high latitude is far longer than the winter of low latitude. Why is the summer of high latitude still always colder than the winter of low latitude?

Public Comments

1. because higher latitudes get little to no direct rays from the sun, meaning they hit at more of an angle, which spreads out the heat over a greater area I the low latitudes, they get lots of direct rays from the sun which means they heat they receive from the sun is more concentrated and creates a warmer environment
2. the atmosphere on Earth is capable of reflect, refract, and absorb the light and heat from the Sun. And seasons are just descriptions of time of year; it doesn't mean summer in one place is always warmer than winter in another. Generally, due to the way the Earth is oriented towards the Sun, at low latitude the sunlight is hitting the Earth at an almost perpendicular angle and the light travels a shorter distance through the atmosphere. Comparing to the sunlight hitting the higher latitude, it enters the atmosphere at an angle and travels a longer distance through the atmosphere; because of this, more energy is scattered and less energy/heat hits the ground. Hence the temperature difference.