Daytime (astronomy) - Daytime Variations With Latitude and Seasons - Middle Latitudes

Middle Latitudes

In the middle latitudes, far from both the Equator and the poles, variations in the length of daytime are moderate. In the higher middle latitudes where Montreal, Paris and Ushuaia are located, the difference in the length of the day from summer to winter can be very noticeable: the sky may still be lit at 10 PM in summer, but may be dark at 5 PM in winter. In the lower middle latitudes where Southern California, Egypt and South Africa are located, the seasonal difference may be quite small and only slightly noticeable to the locals.

Also in the middle latitudes, the seasonal climate variations produced by changes in the length of daytime are the most marked, with very distinct periods of cold and heat, and other secondary seasonal changes such as snow and ice in winter that disappear in summer and so on. At high latitudes, it is cold most of the time, with constant snow and ice, so the seasons are less obvious; and in the tropics, it is hot most of the time, with no snow or ice at all, so again the seasons are less obvious.