Northern Hemisphere
|
Northern Hemisphere highlighted in yellow. |
The
Northern Hemisphere is the half of a planet's surface (or
celestial sphere) that is
north of the
equator (the word
hemisphere literally means 'half ball'). On the
Earth, the Northern Hemisphere contains most of the land and about 88-90% of the human population.
In the
temperate regions of the hemisphere, winter lasts from December to February (though winter weather can begin as early as September and last into May or even June in
arctic regions) and Summer from June to August.
The Earth's
perihelion, during which its orbital motion is fastest, occurs in January. In theory, northern hemisphere winters would therefore tend to be shorter and less severe than
southern hemisphere winters at equivalent
latitudes, but in practice, the moderating effect of the larger southern hemisphere oceans more than compensates for this effect.
Tropical regions tend to experience a
rainy season during the 'summer' months, and a dry season during the 'winter' months.
Regions north of the
Arctic Circle will experience some days in summer on which the sun never sets, and some days in winter on which the sun never rises. The duration of these phases varies from one day for places right on the Arctic circle to several months near the
North Pole itself.
Continents in the northern hemisphere:
*
Asia (
Indonesia is primarily in the
southern hemisphere)
*
Europe*
North America*A small part of
South America, north of the
Amazon River*About 2/3 of
Africa, north of the
Congo RiverCountries primarily in the northern hemisphere that are in
Africa:
*
Algeria*
Benin*
Burkina Faso*
Cameroon*
Cape Verde*
Central African Republic*
Chad*
Djibouti*
Egypt*
Equatorial Guinea*
Eritrea*
Ethiopia*
Gambia*
Ghana*
Guinea-Bissau*
Ivory Coast*
Kenya*
Liberia*
Libya*
Mali*
Mauritania*
Morocco*
Niger*
Nigeria*
Senegal*
Sierra Leone*
Somalia*
Sudan*
Togo*
Tunisia*
Uganda*
Western SaharaCountries primarily in the northern hemisphere that are southeast of
Asia:
*
Marshall Islands*
Micronesia*
PalauCountries primarily in the northern hemisphere that are in
South America:
*
Colombia*
French Guiana*
Guyana*
Suriname*
Venezuela*
Seasons
*
Solstice and
equinox*
Tropic of Cancer
