BAMOS Vol 31 No.4 December 2018 | Page 30

30 BAMOS Dec 2018 Figure 3. Annual average count of “nice” days per city for groups of cities based on ranges in latitude (based on data from 1970–2017). For each group of cities, the plot shows a box covering the interquartile range, inside which is the median (as a line) and the mean (as a cross). The lines extending outside of the box show the range of values from the minimum to the maximum, with any data more than 1.5 times the interquartile range displayed as outlier points beyond those lines. 4. Results by latitude 5. Results by month In general, the highest annual average counts of ‘nice’ days are found in a band across the middle of Australia, extending from about 23 °S to 30 °S (Figure 3). Averaged across the country, May has the most ‘nice’ days in Australia’s cities, followed closely by April (Figure 4). Hot conditions with high humidity and rain across the tropical north during January result in it being the month with the smallest count of ‘nice’ days for Australia. The lowest annual average counts are found across Australia’s tropical north, extending into northwest Western Australia, where most towns have less than 10 “nice” days per year owing to the very warm to hot temperatures all year round and the frequently high humidity. As you move south, the counts slowly decline, with Mildura in Victoria’s Mallee district the most southerly town to have an annual average near 80. Figure 4. Monthly average count of ‘nice’ days per city for Australia (based on data from 1970–2017).