Half of Earth that is south of the Equator
This article is about the southern half of planet Earth. For use of the term describing astronomical observations, see
Southern celestial hemisphere
.
The
Southern Hemisphere
is the half (
hemisphere
) of
Earth
that is
south
of the
Equator
. It contains all or parts of five
continents
[1]
(the whole of
Antarctica
, the whole of
Australia
, about 90% of
South America
, about one-third of
Africa
, and some islands off the continental
mainland
of
Asia
) and four
oceans
(the whole
Southern Ocean
, the majority of the
Indian Ocean
, the
South Atlantic Ocean
, and the
South Pacific Ocean
), as well as
New Zealand
and most of the
Pacific Islands
in
Oceania
. Its surface is 80.9% water, compared with 60.7% water in the
Northern Hemisphere
, and it contains 32.7% of Earth's land.
[2]
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.
Characteristics
[
edit
]
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.
[3]
The differences are also attributed to oceanic heat transfer and differing extents of greenhouse trapping.
[4]
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. The Sun follows a right-to-left trajectory through the northern sky unlike the left-to-right motion of the Sun when seen from the Northern Hemisphere as it passes through the southern sky. Sun-cast shadows turn anticlockwise throughout the day and
sundials
have the hours increasing in the
anticlockwise
direction. During
solar eclipses
viewed from a point to the south of the Tropic of Capricorn, the Moon moves from left to right on the disc of the Sun (see, for example, photos with timings of the
solar eclipse of November 13, 2012
), while viewed from a point to the north of the
Tropic of Cancer
(i.e., in the Northern Hemisphere), the Moon moves from right to left during solar eclipses.
The
Coriolis effect
causes cyclones and tropical storms to spin clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere (as opposed to
anticlockwise
in the Northern Hemisphere).
[5]
The southern
temperate zone
, a subsection of the Southern Hemisphere, 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.
Forests in the Southern Hemisphere have special features which set them apart from those in the Northern Hemisphere. Both
Chile
and
Australia
share, for example, 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.
One of the most notable animals to be found almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere is the
penguin
. A species is found around
Isabela Island
on the
Galapagos
archipelago in the
Pacific Ocean
, which straddles the equator.
[6]
However, most of Isabela and the rest of the archipelago is located in the Southern Hemisphere, and it is deemed by the
International Hydrographic Organization
as being wholly within the South Pacific Ocean, rather than the North Pacific.
[7]
Demographics and human geography
[
edit
]
More than 850 million people live in the Southern Hemisphere, representing around 10?12% of the total global human population.
[8]
[9]
Of those 850 million people, more than 215 million live in
Brazil
, the largest country by land area in the Southern Hemisphere, while more than 150 million live in
Java
, the most populous island in the world. The most populous country in the Southern Hemisphere is
Indonesia
, with 275 million people (roughly 30 million of whom live north of the Equator on the northern portions of the islands of
Sumatra
,
Borneo
, and
Sulawesi
, as well as most of
North Maluku
, while the rest of the population lives in the Southern Hemisphere).
[
citation needed
]
Portuguese
is the most spoken language in the Southern Hemisphere, with over 230 million speakers in six countries ? mostly in Brazil, but also in
Angola
,
Mozambique
,
East Timor
, and small parts of
Equatorial Guinea
and
Sao Tome and Principe
that lie south of the
Equator
.
[10]
Among the largest metropolitan areas in the Southern Hemisphere are
Jakarta
(34 million people),
Sao Paulo
(22 million),
Kinshasa-Brazzaville
(19 million),
Buenos Aires
(16 million),
Rio de Janeiro
(12 million),
Johannesburg
,
Lima
(11 million each),
Surabaya
(10 million),
Bandung
(9 million),
Luanda
(8 million),
Dar es Salaam
,
Santiago
(7 million each),
Belo Horizonte
,
Semarang
(6 million each),
Sydney
,
Melbourne
and
Cape Town
(5 million each). Important financial and commercial centres in the Southern Hemisphere include
Sao Paulo
, where the
B3 (stock exchange)
is headquartered, along with Sydney, home to the
Australian Securities Exchange
, Jakarta, the seat of the
Indonesia Stock Exchange
,
Johannesburg
, home to the
Johannesburg Stock Exchange
, and Buenos Aires, headquarters of the
Buenos Aires Stock Exchange
, the oldest stock market in the Southern Hemisphere.
Common tourist destinations in the Southern Hemisphere include
Bali
,
Buenos Aires
,
Cape Town
,
Easter Island
,
Lima
,
Rio de Janeiro
,
Sydney
and
Tahiti
.
[11]
[12]
According to a 2017 report, the most popular Southern Hemisphere "
bucket list
" destinations among Australians were
Antarctica
,
New Zealand
, the
Galapagos Islands
,
South Africa
and
Peru
.
[13]
Quito, Ecuador
is the closest major city to the
equatorial line
on the planet, and
Ushuaia, Argentina
claims the title of world's southernmost city. Cape Town,
Christchurch
,
Hobart
,
Punta Arenas
and Ushuaia are officially acknowledged as the five international
Antarctic gateway cities
that serve as primary entry points for travel to the Antarctic region.
[14]
[15]
Among the most developed nations in the Southern Hemisphere is Australia, with a nominal GDP per capita of US$63,487 and a
Human Development Index
(HDI) of 0.946, the tenth-highest in the world as of the 2024 report. New Zealand is also well developed, with a nominal GDP per capita of US$48,072 and an HDI of 0.939, putting it at number 16 in the world in 2024. The least developed nations in the Southern Hemisphere cluster in Africa and Oceania, with
Mozambique
and
Burundi
at the lowest ends of the HDI, at 0.461 (number 183 in the world) and 0.420 (number 187 in the world), respectively. The nominal GDPs per capita of these two countries do not go above US$650, a tiny fraction of the incomes enjoyed by Australians and New Zealanders.
The Southern Hemisphere has long been secondary in the global distribution of demographic, economic and political power, as it has less land than the Northern Hemisphere.
[16]
In recent times, however, countries such as Australia have made greater efforts to economically engage with those from their hemisphere.
[16]
Before the
Age of Discovery
, the Southern Hemisphere was largely cut off from the cultural constructs of the
Western
and
Eastern worlds
.
[16]
Some view both the West and the East as being Northern Hemisphere-centric concepts.
[17]
The most widespread religions in the modern Southern Hemisphere are
Christianity
, prevalent in South America, Africa, Oceania, and
East Timor
, followed by
Islam
in East Africa and
Indonesia
, and
Hinduism
, which is mostly concentrated on/around the islands of
Bali
,
Mauritius
, and
Fiji
.
The oldest continuously inhabited city in the Southern Hemisphere is
Bogor
, in western
Java
, which was founded in
669
. Ancient texts from the Hindu kingdoms prevalent in the area definitively record
669 CE
as the year when Bogor was founded. However, some evidence shows that
Zanzibar
, an ancient port with around 200,000 inhabitants off the coast of
Tanzania
, may be older than Bogor. A Greco-Roman text written between
1
and
100 CE
, the
Periplus of the Erythraean Sea
, mentioned the island of
Menuthias
(
Ancient Greek
: Μενουθι??) as a trading port on the east African coast, which is probably the small Tanzanian island of
Unguja
on which Zanzibar is located. The oldest monumental civilizations in the Southern Hemisphere are the
Norte Chico civilization
and
Casma?Sechin culture
from the northern coast of Peru. These civilizations built cities, pyramids, and plazas in the coastal river valleys of northern Peru with some ruins dating back to
3600 BCE
.
Easter Island
, located about 3,500 kilometres from
Chile
and
French Polynesia
, is considered to be the most remote place on Earth to have been permanently inhabited by humans before the Age of Discovery.
[18]
It was settled by a
Polynesian
group known as the
Rapa Nui
. Areas of the Southern Hemisphere that had no contact with humans before the Age of Discovery include
Christmas Island
and
Mauritius
(in the
Indian Ocean
), the
Galapagos Islands
,
Juan Fernandez Islands
and
Lord Howe Island
(in the South Pacific), the
Falkland Islands
and
Tristan da Cunha
(in the
South Atlantic
) and the continent of
Antarctica
.
Continents or submerged continents
[
edit
]
- Africa
- About one-third of the continent, from south of
Mogadishu
in
Somalia
in the east to south of
Libreville
in
Gabon
in the west. From the
Equator
(
Latitude
: 0°) to
Cape Agulhas
(
Latitude
: 34°50′S).
- Antarctica
- The entire continent and its associated islands are within the Southern Hemisphere. From
Prime Head
, at the northern tip of the
Trinity Peninsula
(
Latitude
: 63°12′48″S) to the
South Pole
(
Latitude
: 90° S).
- Asia
- The entire continental mainland is within the
Northern Hemisphere
, only the southern portion of
Maritime Southeast Asia
, including
East Timor
and most of
Indonesia
, plus the
British Indian Ocean Territory
and
two out of 26 atolls
of
Maldives
in the
Indian Ocean
. From the
Equator
(
Latitude
: 0°) to
Pamana Island
,
Indonesia
(
Latitude
: 11°00'S).
- Australia
- The entire continent and most of its associated islands are within the Southern Hemisphere. From the
Equator
(
Latitude
: 0°) to
Bishop and Clerk Islets
,
Tasmania
,
Australia
(
Latitude
: 55°03′ S).
- South America
- Most of the continent, from south of the
Amazon River
mouth in
Brazil
in the east to north of
Quito
in
Ecuador
in the west. From the
Equator
(
Latitude
: 0°) to
Aguila Islet
,
Diego Ramirez Islands
,
Chile
(
Latitude
: 56°32′16″S), or, if the
South Sandwich Islands
are included as part of South America,
Cook Island
,
South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
(
Latitude
: 59°29′20″S).
- Zealandia
- The entire
submerged continent
, including
New Caledonia
,
New Zealand
,
Norfolk Island
, and other associated low-lying islands above sea level, is within the Southern Hemisphere. From
Belep
,
New Caledonia
,
France
(
Latitude
: 19°45′00″S) to
Jacquemart Island
(
Latitude
: 52°37′S).
Mainland countries or territories
[
edit
]
- Africa
- Entirely ?
- Mostly ?
- Partly ?
- Asia
- The entire continental mainland is wholly within the
Northern Hemisphere
. Only the southern portion of
Maritime Southeast Asia
, plus the
British Indian Ocean Territory
and two out of 26
atolls
of
Maldives
in the
Indian Ocean
are in the Southern Hemisphere.
- Americas
- Entirely ?
- Mostly ?
- Partly ?
- Antarctica
- Entirely ?
- Australia
- Entirely ?
Island countries or territories
[
edit
]
Entirely ?
Partly ?
Entirely ?
Partly ?
Entirely ?
Mostly ?
Partly ?
Entirely ?
See also
[
edit
]
Notes
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Hemisphere Map"
. WorldAtlas.
Archived
from the original on 22 April 2021
. Retrieved
13 June
2014
.
- ^
Life on Earth: A - G.. 1
.
ABC-CLIO
. 2002. p. 528.
ISBN
9781576072868
.
Archived
from the original on 22 January 2023
. Retrieved
8 September
2016
.
- ^
Granite specific heat = 0.79 and water = 4.18 J/g?K see
Heat capacity#Table of specific heat capacities
.
- ^
Kang, Sarah M.; Seager, Richard.
"Croll Revisited: Why is the Northern Hemisphere Warmer than the Southern Hemisphere?"
(PDF)
.
Columbia University
.
Archived
(PDF)
from the original on 2021-09-07
. Retrieved
2018-05-02
.
- ^
"Surface Ocean Currents"
.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
's Ocean Service Education. Archived from
the original
on 6 July 2017
. Retrieved
13 June
2014
.
- ^
Rix-Standing, Luke (2021-04-25).
"World Penguin Day: 6 places you'd never have thought you could see them"
.
The Independent
.
Archived
from the original on 2022-03-05
. Retrieved
2022-03-05
.
- ^
International Hydrographic Organization (1953).
"Limits of Oceans and Seas"
(PDF)
.
Nature
.
172
(4376) (3rd ed.): 484.
Bibcode
:
1953Natur.172R.484.
.
doi
:
10.1038/172484b0
.
S2CID
36029611
. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on 8 October 2011
. Retrieved
28 December
2020
.
- ^
"90% Of People Live In The Northern Hemisphere - Business Insider"
.
Business Insider
. 4 May 2012.
Archived
from the original on 19 January 2018
. Retrieved
3 January
2023
.
- ^
"GIC - Article"
.
galegroup.com
.
Archived
from the original on 18 April 2016
. Retrieved
3 January
2023
.
- ^
"Potencial Economico da Lingua Portuguesa"
(PDF)
.
University of Coimbra
.
Archived
(PDF)
from the original on 2021-10-24
. Retrieved
2017-05-15
.
- ^
Bahamondes, Bianca (2016-11-17).
"10 Best Southern Hemisphere Destinations Where It Will Soon Be Summer"
. The Daily Meal.
Archived
from the original on 2022-03-05
. Retrieved
2022-03-05
.
- ^
"Southern Hemisphere round the world holiday with Easter Island and Tahiti"
.
Travel Nation
.
Archived
from the original on 2022-03-05
. Retrieved
2022-03-05
.
- ^
"Aussies set for summer exodus"
.
The Australian
.
- ^
Salazar, Juan Francisco; James, Paul; Leane, Elizabeth; Magee, Liam (2021).
"Antarctic Cities: From Gateways to Custodial Cities"
. Institute for Culture and Society.
Western Sydney University
.
Penrith
,
New South Wales
: 193.
ISBN
9781741085280
.
- ^
Roldan, Gabriela (2015).
"A door to the ice?: the significance of the Antarctic Gateway Cities today"
.
Journal of Antarctic Affairs
.
2
: 58?70.
- ^
a
b
c
Benjamin Reilly (July 2013).
"Australia as a Southern Hemisphere power"
(PDF)
.
www.files.ethz.ch
. Australian Strategic Policy Institute.
Archived
(PDF)
from the original on 28 March 2022
. Retrieved
17 March
2022
.
- ^
Paton, Michelle; Chengmin, Zhang (January 2014).
"Southern culture and the North/South divide: More than a metaphor"
.
The Journal of the Oriental Society of Australia
.
46
: 26?40.
Archived
from the original on 2023-01-22
. Retrieved
2022-02-25
– via search.informit.org (Atypon).
- ^
Hemm, Robert & Mendez, Marcelo. (2003).
Aerial Surveys of Isle De Pasqua: Easter Island and the New Birdmen
. 10.1007/978-1-4615-0183-1_12
External links
[
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]
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