Southern Hemisphere

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Lore & Background

Forests in the Southern Hemisphere have special features which set them apart from those in the Northern Hemisphere. Both Chile and Australia share unique beech species or Nothofagus, and New Zealand has members of the closely related genera Lophozonia and Fuscospora. The eucalyptus is native to Australia but is now also planted in Southern Africa and Latin America for pulp production, and increasingly, biofuel uses. Some African animals like chimpanzees and gorillas live in both the Northern and Southern Hemisphere portions of Africa. Eastern gorillas are native to three Southern Hemisphere countries; Rwanda (which is entirely below the equator) and the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda (which are trans-hemispheric countries). Western gorillas can be found in Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon and the Republic of the Congo. The bonobo species is exclusive to the Southern Hemisphere, being endemic to forests of the Democratic Republic of the Congo south of the Congo River. Giraffes occur predominantly in the Southern Hemisphere, with substantial populations in countries such as Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. The spectacled bear is the only bear species which occurs in the Southern Hemisphere, found in certain South American countries like Bolivia, Ecuador and Peru. One of the most notable animals to be found almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere is the penguin. Australia and Madagascar developed many endemic animals due to their geological isolation, including kangaroos, koalas, platypuses, Tasmanian devils, emus, echidnas, quokkas, cassowaries, lemurs, aye-ayes, fossas, indris, sifakas and panther chameleons. Dodos were endemic to the formerly uninhabited island of Mauritius, which is located in the Indian Ocean and Southern Hemisphere; the animal went extinct in 1681. Several domestic dog breeds were developed in the Southern Hemisphere, including Australian cattle dogs, Australian kelpies, Australian silky terriers, Australian terriers, Bardino Majoreros, Brazilian terriers, Bull Arabs, Chilean terriers, Cimarrón Uruguayos, Cordoba fighting dogs, Dogo Argentinos, Fila Brasileiros, Pampas deerhounds, Peruvian Inca orchids and Tenterfield terriers. 33 kilometers from Brazil's Atlantic coast lies Ilha da Queimada Grande, an island commonly known as 'Snake Island' due to its large population of venomous snakes; it is the only known natural habitat of the golden lancehead.

Reader's Guide

Owing to the tilt of Earth's rotation relative to the Sun and the ecliptic plane, summer is from December to February (inclusive) and winter is from June to August (inclusive). September 22 or 23 is the vernal equinox and March 20 or 21 is the autumnal equinox. The South Pole is in the centre of the southern hemispherical region. Southern Hemisphere climates tend to be slightly milder than those at similar latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere, except in the Antarctic which is colder than the Arctic. This is because the Southern Hemisphere has significantly more ocean and much less land; water heats up and cools down more slowly than land. Antarctica's Vostok Station holds the record for the Southern Hemisphere's lowest temperature at −89.2 °C (−128.6 °F) on July 21, 1983. This is also the lowest temperature ever recorded on earth. The Southern Hemisphere's highest recorded temperature is tied at 50.7 °C (123.3 °F) between Oodnadatta, South Australia on January 2, 1960 and Onslow, Western Australia on January 13, 2022. In the Southern Hemisphere, the Sun passes from east to west through the north, although north of the Tropic of Capricorn the mean Sun can be directly overhead or due south at midday. Sun-cast shadows turn anticlockwise throughout the day and sundials have the hours increasing in the anticlockwise direction. The Coriolis effect causes cyclones and tropical storms to spin clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere, as opposed to anticlockwise in the Northern Hemisphere. The southern temperate zone is nearly all oceanic. The Sagittarius constellation that includes the galactic centre is a southern constellation as well as both Magellanic Clouds. This, combined with clearer skies, makes for excellent viewing of the night sky from the Southern Hemisphere with brighter and more numerous stars. The Southern Hemisphere has significantly less polluted air than the Northern Hemisphere, and was unimpacted by the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster.

Did You Know?

• The Southern Hemisphere's surface is 80.9% water, compared with 60.7% water in the Northern Hemisphere.
• Antarctica's Vostok Station recorded the lowest temperature ever on Earth: −89.2 °C (−128.6 °F) on July 21, 1983.
• The spectacled bear is the only bear species that occurs in the Southern Hemisphere, found in Bolivia, Ecuador and Peru.
• The dodo, endemic to Mauritius in the Indian Ocean and Southern Hemisphere, went extinct in 1681, less than 100 years after the first documented human sighting of the island.
• The Southern Hemisphere was unimpacted by the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster, which posed a serious threat to the Northern Hemisphere.