Comparing extreme temperatures - Australia and Canada

Some of the Australians we met have commented on the extreme cold in Canada, and how it seems unthinkable to survive in our country.

I reflected a lot on that because after touring Western Australia and Central Australia, I have to ask myself the same question: how can Australians survive the boiling heat?

In Ottawa the temperature in winter does reach -30 and with the wind factor, below -40. When that happens, Canadians will still venture outside, but in fewer numbers. I’ve seen people skate on Canal Rideau when it is a crisp -35 outside.

Australians seem to have a harder time adapting to the summer heat, particularly in Western Australia and Central Australia where temperatures reach +40. It seems so because Ania and I noticed that nobody ventures outside during the day. The only activity that occurs outside is the walk from the air-conditioned car to the house or shopping mall.

In some way, it is easier for us in Canada to escape the cold than it is for Australians to escape the heat: in Canada, one can expect every single house, motel, or store to be heated in winter. God knows how it feels to enter a store in Coober Pedy (Central Australia) to escape the +45 outside only to realize that there is no air conditioning but only a fan. The air is humid, heavy and sticky. What’s worse, some of the rooms in hostels have no air-conditioning. Others have air-conditioning but the thing has obviously seen better days and is barely working.

In a way, extreme temperatures have forced both Australians and Canadians to adapt. But it seems that escaping the cold is a tad bit easier than escaping the heat.