There is perhaps no one topic of human conversation that comes in for more discussion than that of the weather, and yet it is no exaggeration to say that there is no other as to which exact information is so scanty or so little accessible, and it is believed that even the following scanty notes are more complete than can be found in any one work in the English language.
If the intending emigrant to foreign parts desires to find out something of the conditions under which he will find himself, he may perhaps, after much trouble, unearth some undigested data on the subject from the Agents-General of Colonies, &c.; but he will find it far easier to ascertain the amount of piece goods bought by the “Borrioula Gah” tribe than the mean temperature of their capital; and, practically speaking, the only library containing anything approaching an adequate collection of the literature of the subject is that of the Royal Meteorological Society, to whom and to their courteous librarian, Mr. W. Marriott, my best thanks are due for their ready assistance in the compilation of the present chapter. Owing to the very varied sources from which the information has been drawn, any attempt at close uniformity of treatment is out of the question, but wherever possible the data given comprise the average mean, mean maximum and mean minimum temperatures, the rainfall, number of rainy days, and average relative humidity for each month of the year.
When possible, the figures given are the averages of several years, but in many cases they refer to a single year only, being derived from isolated observations or from series which have not as yet been collated by a meteorological expert. No barometric data have been included, as they have little interest for any but specialists, and a study of those given will be found quite sufficient to enable anyone to judge with what sort of an outfit he should provide himself. It will be, for example, quite obvious that it is quite useless to take a mackintosh coat to Wadi Halfa, if anyone will glance at the table given for that favoured (?) locality. In some cases the maximum and minimum temperatures tabulated are not the mean, but the absolute maxima and minima, and therefore represent only exceptional experiences and not what one may fairly expect. It must be clearly understood, too, that absolute and mean data are in no sense comparable, as the latter will always lie several degrees within the former; but in the present state of meteorological science one has to be thankful for what one can get, and this, in the case of most of the less advanced countries, is remarkably little.
The plan of the following notes is to make a sort of climatic tour round the globe, but it is obvious that it is impossible within the scope of a work like the present to describe more than a few widely distant examples, so that it is not even possible to include all our tropical colonies; but it is hoped that those given will suffice to give a general idea of what may be expected in most parts of the world. With few exceptions all data are given both in the English and in the metric systems.
The Mediterranean Basin.
—None of the countries comprising the European shores of this basin can be said to come well under the heading of “hot countries,” and those on the African shore are of interest rather as winter health resorts than as tropical places of residence. The first of these that requires notice is—
Algeria.
—Situated in lat. 37° N., within a couple of days’ steaming from Marseilles, this pleasant French colony is much the most easily accessible sub-tropical health station for the whole of western Europe, and forms an excellent resort for persons who find themselves unable to withstand the rigours of a northern winter. Thanks to the French talent in municipal organisation, the traveller finds himself at once among the novel sights and sounds of civilisation of the Oriental type, and yet surrounded with all the comforts and amenities of a fine European town. Few health-seekers venture far from the coast, though there must be many places in the interior that would be well suited for early cases of consumption, as the air of the coast is perhaps too “relaxing” for some cases of the sort. For the north coast of Africa, the rainfall is considerable, but in spite of this, on the average, the air is generally dry, as evidenced by the low average relative humidity.
The country may be divided into four zones, which present great differences of climate.
(1) A narrow littoral zone of low ground, often only a few miles wide. Most of the ports face eastward and are well sheltered by the neighbouring hills.