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==Explanation==
 
==Explanation==
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{{incomplete|Edited by an Extremophobe. Fill in the table using data from [http://weatherbase.com weatherbase.com] (Randall's source). Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
 
This is a chart of major (and not-so-major) populated areas showing seasonal temperature patterns. The chart is a guide to where one might like to live depending on how much summer heat and winter cold they enjoy. There are four focused zones:
 
This is a chart of major (and not-so-major) populated areas showing seasonal temperature patterns. The chart is a guide to where one might like to live depending on how much summer heat and winter cold they enjoy. There are four focused zones:
  
* Hate both cold and heat -- Neither summers nor winters are too extreme.  These are either places at high altitude in the tropics (e.g. Quito, Addis Ababa) or areas at mid latitudes in Mediterranean climates (e.g. San Francisco, Wellington).  All of these areas (as well as cities near this zone such as Mexico City and Melbourne) have a climate type of C-b in the Koppen Climate Classification, indicating a temperate climate with a warm summer.
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* Hate both cold and heat (e.g. Quito, Addis Ababa)--Neither summers nor winters are too extreme; Typical in higher elevations tropical regions
* Hate cold but love heat -- Very hot in the summer.  These are all either tropical regions with a latitude of 23°26’ or less (e.g. Rio, Bangkok, Manila) or desert areas very near the tropics (e.g. Needles, Baghdad).  These areas all have a climate type of A-, indicating a tropical rainforest, savanna, or monsoon climate; or a classification of B-h, indicating a hot desert or arid climate.  All cities listed with a Af/Am/Aw climate type fall in this zone.
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* Hate cold but love heat (e.g. Rio, Bangkok, Manila)--Very hot in the summer; typically tropical regions
* Hate heat but love cold -- Very cold in the winter.  These are typically places at high latitudes (e.g. Moscow, Oslo), with almost none of the places listed below 40°, and the average latitude being 51°.  These areas tend of have a climate type of B-k, indicating a cold desert or steppe, or D-b, indicating a continental climate with a warm summer.  Some of coldest places, including those off of the chart, have a climate of Dfc subarctic (e.g. Fairbanks and Yellowknife) or EF ice cap (McMurdo).
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* Hate heat but love cold (e.g. Moscow, Oslo)--Very cold in the winter; typically high latitudes
* Love both heat and cold -- Both summers and winters are extreme. These places are either in the inland of North America (e.g. Sioux Falls, Kansas City) where there is no nearby ocean to buffer temperatures; or, interestingly, clustered around the Yellow Sea (e.g. Seoul, Beijing).  These places are almost all climate type D-a, indicating a continental climate with a hot summer. Turpan, the place farthest toward the love heat/love cold corner, has a climate so miserable that it meets the requirements for both climate type BWk (cold desert) and BWh (hot desert) at the same time.
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* Love both heat and cold (e.g. Seoul, Beijing)--Both summers and winters are extreme. I.e. most areas that have inland climate. Inland areass lacking a big water mass that act as a buffer to limit extream temperatures
  
 
The summer heat axis is determined by {{w|humidex}}, a system that combines heat and humidity to generate an estimate of perceived "summer discomfort".
 
The summer heat axis is determined by {{w|humidex}}, a system that combines heat and humidity to generate an estimate of perceived "summer discomfort".
  
Note that if the values from this table are charted, the result is similar but not exact to how Randall drew the comic.  For instance, he shows Kinshasa as having a “colder” winter than Honolulu, but the average low in the coldest month for Kinshasa (20°C) is hotter than the average low in Honolulu (18.9°C). In general these differences are minor, but a few stand out:
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According to Randall, people who love cold should live in where the average low in the coldest month is -3°C or less.  People who love heat should live where the average Humidex in the hottest month is at least 33°C (in otherwise cold places such as Minneapolis) to 38°C (in otherwise hot places such as Honolulu).
  
* Lubbock is shown having a climate similar to Geneva or Budapest, but in reality it should be in the “Love Cold and Love Heat” zone.  The coldness of the winter is accurately reflected, but the hottest month Humidex is similar to Xi’an or Saint Louis.
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However, given the great variability of weather patterns across the globe, it's not altogether clear how useful this would actually be to someone looking to choose where to live, since it's not clear exactly what 'love/hate hot/cold' would mean, and therefore what measure should be used. For example, is one or two very cold days better or worse than a month's worth of moderately cold days? It's also not clear that the relationship between temperature and discomfort is linear. More likely is that there is a small temperature band where each degree of change causes significantly more discomfort, and beyond which it's just "too hot/cold".
* Casper is shown in the “Love Cold and Hate Heat” zone, but its summers are much warmer than shown.  It should be closer to Toronto, both have a peak month Humidex of around 30-31°C.
 
* Omaha should be in the “Love Cold and Love Heat” zone.  Its hottest month Humidex of 37.2 is warmer than Jinzou, which has a similar coldest month.
 
* Los Angeles should be in the “Hate Cold and Hate Heat” zone.  Its hottest month Humidex is only 26.7, which is less than Mexico City or Nairobi.
 
* Flagstaff and Santa Fe are shown as having warmer winters than they do.  They should be grouped with Boston, Kabul and Sapporo (average coldest month low of -5°C to -8°C) rather than Istanbul, Madrid and Portland (average coldest month low of 1°C to 2°C)
 
 
 
It is not certain if these differences are a due to errors, the use of a different data set, or deliberate “Easter Eggs” set to see if anyone would notice.
 
 
 
According to Randall:
 
* People who love cold should live where the average low in the coldest month is -3°C or less.
 
* People who love heat should live where the hottest month Humidex is at least 33°C (in otherwise cold places such as Minneapolis) to 38°C (in otherwise hot places such as Honolulu). 
 
* People who hate cold should live where the average low in the coldest month is higher than 3°C. 
 
* People who hate heat should live where the hottest month Humidex is less than 29°C.
 
 
 
However, given the great variability of weather patterns across the globe, it's not altogether clear how useful this would actually be to someone looking to choose where to live, since it's not clear exactly what "love/hate hot/cold" would mean.  It's also not clear that the relationship between temperature and discomfort is linear. More likely is that there is a small temperature band where each degree of change causes significantly more discomfort, and beyond which it's just "too hot/cold".
 
 
 
Hottest and coldest month therefore may not be the best measure.  For example, is one or two very cold days better or worse than a month's worth of moderately cold days?  Shown in the table below for each place are the number of days above 32°C (90°F) and the number of days below 0°C (32°F), taken from Weatherbase.com (Randall's source).  For most people a temperature above 32°C is considered hot and a temperature below 0°C is considered cold.  So, for instance, someone who loves heat might want to live in Tehran (with three months above 32°C) rather than Beijing (with only one month) even though the peak month Humidex in Beijing is higher.  Someone who loves cold might want to live in Santa Fe, where it never gets particularly cold (only -8°C) but where it is below freezing almost half of the year (179.8 days on average).  In general though, the places with the most hot or cold days also have the hottest and coldest extremes.
 
 
 
Once again, Turpan stands out for its misery, with days above 32°C totaling four months and days below 0°C totaling four months.  In fact, on average there is at least one day every month of the year that the temperature is either above 32°C or below 0°C.  This includes almost every day in June, July and August being hot and every single day in December, January and February being below freezing.
 
 
 
Some of the most extreme climates on earth are not shown on this comic, however, perhaps because some of them are uninhabited.  {{w|Eismitte}} (a camp established in the center of Greenland in the 1930s) and {{w|Vostok Station}} (in the center of Antarctica) both see temperatures far colder than McMurdo, although being in the middle of ice caps neither can be inhabited without outside support.  The areas around {{w|Oymyakon}} and {{w|Verkhoyansk}} in eastern Siberia also see temperatures colder than McMurdo and are actual towns, although summer temperatures are much higher.  In both places the summer weather is generally average (Humidex of 22°C to 23°C) but they have seen record highs of 34°C  to 37°C  and record lows of almost -68°C, giving them the greatest temperature swings on earth.  {{w|Bouvet Island}} is a small island in the South Atlantic Ocean, near the latitude where there are no land masses to interrupt storms and currents (south of South America but north of Antarctica).  As a result it has one of the most consistent climates on earth, with a high and low almost always within a few degrees of 0°C all year long – a perpetual state of almost to just freezing, combined with clouds, fog, wind and rain from ocean storms.  {{w|Death Valley}} in California, {{w|Shahdad}} in Iran, and {{w|Murzuk}} in Libya all vie for having the highest temperature in the world, although not the highest Humidex.
 
 
 
The relevant temperature data for these extreme locations, where known, is in the second table for comparison.
 
  
 
The title text refers to a quote sometimes attributed to {{w|Mark Twain}}; however, as it points out, the quote is [https://www.snopes.com/quotes/twain.asp misattributed], and it is unknown who created it. The text then goes on to claim that the person who originally said the quote never visited {{w|McMurdo Station}}, a US Antarctic research center, which is certainly a colder place than San Francisco.
 
The title text refers to a quote sometimes attributed to {{w|Mark Twain}}; however, as it points out, the quote is [https://www.snopes.com/quotes/twain.asp misattributed], and it is unknown who created it. The text then goes on to claim that the person who originally said the quote never visited {{w|McMurdo Station}}, a US Antarctic research center, which is certainly a colder place than San Francisco.
  
 
{| class="wikitable sortable"
 
{| class="wikitable sortable"
! scope="col" style="width: 100px;" | City
+
! City
! scope="col" style="width: 100px;" | Country
+
! Country
 
! Continent
 
! Continent
! scope="col" style="width: 100px;" | Preference Type
+
! Preference Type
 
! scope="col" style="width: 100px;" | Average low in coldest month (°C)
 
! scope="col" style="width: 100px;" | Average low in coldest month (°C)
 
! scope="col" style="width: 100px;" | Average high in hottest month (°C)
 
! scope="col" style="width: 100px;" | Average high in hottest month (°C)
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| {{w|Kiev}} || Ukraine || Europe || Love Cold, Hate Heat || -9 || 23 || 12 || 25.3 || 145 || 0 || 50° 27′ N || 179 || Dfb (warm summer humid continental)
 
| {{w|Kiev}} || Ukraine || Europe || Love Cold, Hate Heat || -9 || 23 || 12 || 25.3 || 145 || 0 || 50° 27′ N || 179 || Dfb (warm summer humid continental)
 
|-
 
|-
| {{w|Kinshasa}} || Democratic Republic of the Congo || Africa || Love Heat, Hate Cold || 20 || 30 || 21 || 38.4 || 0 || 0 || 4° 19′ S || 240 || Aw (tropical savanna)
+
| {{w|Kinshasa}} || Democratic || Africa || Love Heat, Hate Cold || 20 || 30 || 21 || 38.4 || 0 || 0 || 4° 19′ S || 240 || Aw (tropical savanna)
 
|-
 
|-
 
| {{w|Lagos}} || Nigeria || Africa || Love Heat, Hate Cold || 23 || 30 || 23 || 40.3 || 0 || 0 || 6° 27′ N || 41 || Aw (tropical savanna)
 
| {{w|Lagos}} || Nigeria || Africa || Love Heat, Hate Cold || 23 || 30 || 23 || 40.3 || 0 || 0 || 6° 27′ N || 41 || Aw (tropical savanna)
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| {{w|Volgograd}} || Russia || Europe ||  || -9.2 || 29.3 || N/A ||  || 146 || 11 || 48° 42′ N || 36 || Dfa (hot summer humid continental)
 
| {{w|Volgograd}} || Russia || Europe ||  || -9.2 || 29.3 || N/A ||  || 146 || 11 || 48° 42′ N || 36 || Dfa (hot summer humid continental)
 
|-
 
|-
| {{w|Wellington}} || New Zealand || Oceania || Hate Both || 6.3 || 20.6 || 12 || 22.9 || 0 || 0 || 41° 17′ S || 495 || Cfb (temperate oceanic)
+
| {{w|Wellington}} || New Zealand || Oceania || Hate Both || 6.3 || 20.6 || 12 || 22.9 || 0 || 0 || 47° 17′ S || 495 || Cfb (temperate oceanic)
 
|-
 
|-
 
| {{w|Wuhan}} || China || Asia ||  || 2 || 32 || 24 || 43.3 || 35 || 49 || 30° 35′ N || 37 || Cfa (humid subtropical)
 
| {{w|Wuhan}} || China || Asia ||  || 2 || 32 || 24 || 43.3 || 35 || 49 || 30° 35′ N || 37 || Cfa (humid subtropical)
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|}
 
|}
 
*Istanbul spans both Europe and Asia but its city center is located in Europe.
 
*Istanbul spans both Europe and Asia but its city center is located in Europe.
 
{| class="wikitable sortable"
 
! scope="col" style="width: 100px;" | City
 
! scope="col" style="width: 100px;" | Country
 
! Continent
 
! scope="col" style="width: 100px;" | Preference Type
 
! scope="col" style="width: 100px;" | Average low in coldest month (°C)
 
! scope="col" style="width: 100px;" | Average high in hottest month (°C)
 
! scope="col" style="width: 100px;" | Highest monthly average dew point (°C)
 
! Humidex
 
! scope="col" style="width: 100px;" | Average Annual Days Below 0°C
 
! scope="col" style="width: 100px;" | Average Annual Days Above 32°C
 
! Latitude
 
! Elevation (m)
 
! Koppen Climate Classification
 
|-
 
| {{w|Bouvet Island}} || Norway (dependency) || South Atlantic || Love Cold, Hate Heat || -5 || 4 || 0.5 || 2 ||  ||  || 54° 25′ S || 780 || EF (ice cap)
 
|-
 
| {{w|Death Valley}} || United States || North America || Love Heat, Hate Cold || 3.8 || 46.4 || 4 || 45.4 || 4.3 || 191.8 || 36° 14′ N || -86 || BWh (hot desert)
 
|-
 
| {{w|Eismitte}} || Greenland || North America || Love Cold, Hate Heat || -53 || -12 || -13 || -16.3 || 365 || 0 || 71° 9′ N || 3010 || EF (ice cap)
 
|-
 
| {{w|Murzuk}} || Libya || Africa || Love Heat, Hate Cold || 5.9 || 42.4 || 16.5 || 47.3 ||  ||  || 25° 54′ N || 453 || BWh (hot desert)
 
|-
 
| {{w|Oymyakon}} || Russia || Asia || Love Cold, Hate Heat || -50 || 22.7 || 6 || 22.3 || 273 || 0 || 63° 27′ N || 750 || Dwd (cold wet summer subarctic)
 
|-
 
| {{w|Shahdad}} || Iran || Asia || Love Heat, Hate Cold || 7.7 || 46.1 ||  ||  ||  ||  || 30° 25′ N || 452 || BWh (hot desert)
 
|-
 
| {{w|Verkhoyansk}} || Russia || Asia || Love Cold, Hate Heat || -48.3 || 23.5 || 6 || 23.1 ||  ||  || 67° 33′ N || 142 || Dfd (cold subarctic)
 
|-
 
| {{w|Vostok Station}} ||  || Antarctica || Love Cold, Hate Heat || -75 || -30 || -37 || -35.4 || 365 || 0 || 78° 27′ S || 3419 || EF (ice cap)
 
|-
 
|}
 
 
===Original version===
 
[[File:temperature_preferences_smudge.png|frame|The "smudge" from the original comic, edited to enhance visibility]]
 
 
The [[:File:temperature_preferences_original.png|comic as originally published]] had a "smudge" or scattering of gray pixels, visible in the center of the image between the labels for Madrid and Lubbock. A new version of the image was later uploaded with this removed.
 
 
By editing the image to increase the contrast between the background and the "smudge", as shown here, it is possible to see dots and grid lines. This would seem to be a scatter graph, likely one showing temperature data used by Randall as a reference while making this comic, and accidentally left visible when the comic was first uploaded. A similar thing happened in [[1561: Water Phase Diagram]], where a phase diagram from Wikipedia was faintly visible in the [[1561: Water Phase Diagram#Original version|original version of the comic]].
 
  
 
==Transcript==
 
==Transcript==
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[[Category:Scatter plots]]
 
[[Category:Scatter plots]]
[[Category:Weather]]
 

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