
Northern hemisphere highlighted in yellow.

Northern hemisphere
The 'Northern Hemisphere' or 'northern hemisphere'
[1] is the half of a
planet that is
north of the
equator—the word ''
hemisphere'' literally means 'half ball'. It is also that half of the
celestial sphere north of the celestial
equator.
Earth's northern hemisphere contains most of the land and about 90% of the
human population.
In the
temperate regions of the hemisphere, winter lasts from
December 21 to
March 21 (though winter weather can begin as early as September and last into May or even June in
arctic regions) and Summer from
June 21 to
September 22.
Earth's
perihelion, during which its orbital motion is fastest, occurs in January. In theory, northern hemisphere winters would therefore tend to be shorter and less severe than
southern hemisphere winters at equivalent
latitudes, but in practice, the moderating effect of the larger southern hemisphere oceans more than compensates for this effect.
Tropical regions tend to experience a
rainy season during the 'summer' months, and a dry season during the 'winter' months.
Regions north of the
Arctic Circle will experience some days in summer on which the sun never sets, and some days in winter on which the sun never rises. The duration of these phases varies from one day for places right on the Arctic Circle to several months near the
North Pole itself.
==
Continents in the northern hemisphere:==
★
Asia (
Indonesia is primarily in the
southern hemisphere)
★
Europe
★
North America
★ A small part of
South America, north of the
Amazon River
★ About â…” of
Africa, north of the
Congo River
==
Countries wholly, mostly, or partly in the northern hemisphere that are in
Africa:
==
Entirely
★
Algeria
★
Benin
★
Burkina Faso
★
Cameroon
★
Cape Verde
★
Central African Republic
★
Chad
★
Djibouti
★
Egypt
★
Eritrea
★
Ethiopia
★
Gambia
★
Ghana
★
Guinea-Bissau
★
Ivory Coast
★
Liberia
★
Libya
★
Mali
★
Mauritania
★
Morocco
★
Niger
★
Nigeria
★
Senegal
★
Sierra Leone
★
Sudan
★
Togo
★
Tunisia
★
Western Sahara
Mostly
★
Equatorial Guinea
★
Kenya
★
Sao tome and principe
★
Somalia
★
Uganda
Partly
★
Democratic rep of Congo
★
Gabon
★
Republic of Congo
==
Countries primarily in the northern hemisphere that are southeast of
Asia:==
★
Marshall Islands
★
Micronesia
★
Palau
==
Countries and territories wholly, mostly, or partly in the northern hemisphere that are in
South America:==
Wholly
★
French Guiana
★
Guyana
★
Suriname
★
Venezuela
Mostly
★
Colombia
Partly
★
Brazil
★
Ecuador
==
Countries and territories wholly, mostly, or partly in the northern hemisphere that are in
North America==
Wholly
★
The Bahamas
★
United States
★
Mexico
★
Canada
★
Barbados
★
Nicaragua
★
Dominican Republic
★
Jamaica
★
Trinidad and Tobago
See also
★
Seasons
★
Solstice and
equinox
★
Tropic of Cancer
References
1. ''Merriam Webster's Online Dictionary'' (based on Collegiate vol., 11th ed.) 2006. Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster, Inc.