34 THE CLIMATE OF AUSTRALASIA 



is thereby increased. Hence instead of pre- 

 cipitating its moisture at once, it is ready to 

 pick up more moisture ; it is a drying wind, in 

 spite of the fact that it is coming straight from 

 the sea. For example, the trade winds reach 

 the shores of the Sahara as drying winds, It 

 is not until they get far inland that they are 

 chilled by contact with cold mountains or by 

 being raised high above the earth's surface ; 

 then their moisture is condensed and falls as 

 rain. 



Hence, the interior of Australia gets most of 

 its rain in summer. The coast lands, on the 

 other hand, receive most of their rainfall in 

 winter, because under these conditions, though 

 the prevalent wind may be outward, still, when- 

 ever the wind does blow inward, the air will be 

 passing from a warmer to a colder area, and 

 thus its moisture be at once condensed. 



A coastal climate, we must remember, will 

 partake of the characters of a marine climate. 

 The interior of a continent will have cyclonic 

 conditions (low pressure) in summer, and anti- 

 cyclonic (high pressure) conditions in winter. 

 An ocean has the reverse conditions ; it is 

 anticyclonic in summer, and cyclonic in winter. 

 The meteorological conditions of the ocean are 

 exactly the reverse of those which prevail on 

 the land. 



