John Wheeler: Northern Hemisphere weather is very different from the Southern Hemisphere

FARGO — The Northern Hemisphere is a remarkably different part of the world than the Southern Hemisphere. About two-thirds of the landmass of our planet is in the Northern Hemisphere at present. Over eons, the continents rise and fall and drift around, and so it has not always been this way and it will not always be so in the future.

However, at present, the presence of more land and less ocean in the northern half of our planet has many interesting ramifications. About 98% of the average snow cover on Earth is north of the equator. About 69% of all hurricanes occur north of the equator.



This, despite the fact that the Southern Hemisphere is 80% ocean-covered. Perhaps most important, to us anyway, is that about 90% of the people living on Earth live in the Northern Hemisphere..