K.UNGL. SV. VETi AKADEMIENS HANDLINGAR. BAND 40. NIO 5. 5 



It varies, however, very mueh. Within 24 hour, the 19th of April 1883 a change 

 of the barometrical height of not less than 42, i mm. was observed. On the northern 

 hemisphere Iceland alone might be able to show changes of similar size». 



The mean temperature of the year -Sept. 1882- — Aug. 1883 was only + 1,7° 

 C. If this can be regarded as being about equal to the normal condition the mean 

 temperature would be about 4 degrees lower than the comparatively not very far 

 distant and on about the same latitude situated Cape Horn, the southern point of 

 South America, and about 6 degrees lower than for instance on Rugen, but 3 degrees 

 higher than in Nikolajevsk at the Sea of Okhotsk on corresponding latitude on the 

 northern hemisphere. The warmest month is February and it had they ear mention- 

 ed a mean temperature of + 5,4° C., or about the same as the corresponding sum- 

 mer month July of normal years on Southern Spitzbergen. During the coldest month, 

 June, the mean temperature was — 2,9° C. or rather similar to that of the corre- 

 sponding winter month in Stockholm. The lowest temperature observed by the Ger- 

 man Expedition was — 12,3° C. in July, the highest in the shade according to the 

 same authority + 17,8° C. in February. Mr Sörllng never stated himself any lower 

 temperature than — 11° C. (the lOth of July 1905), and the highest degrees- obser- 

 ved by him which, however, appear to have been somewhat disturbed by direct in- 

 solation exceeded sometimes +'20° C. Even during the summer months, December 

 — February, the thermometer fell sometimes to about zero of the centigrade, but 

 very seldom below. From these facts may-be concluded that the climate of South 

 Georgia with regard to the extremes of the temperature is rather limited as also could 

 be expected that it should be on an island in an ocean which never is frozen. The 

 occasional changes of the temperature are, however, rather considerable and in the 

 middle of the winter the temperature sometimes rises several degrees above zero, — 

 the 28th of Aug. (corresponding to February of the northern hemisphere) 1883 at 9 

 o'clock p. m. + 15,i c C. was observed during a western »föhnwind». 



»The average for the accumulation of clouds was the year quoted 7,i (according 

 to the rule: = clear to 10 = fully overclouded) and it was rather similar during 

 all the months of the year. The number of clear däys (that is with the sky less 

 overcast than degree 2 of the scale) was only 6, mostly during the winter. The 

 number of cloudy days (the sky more overcast than degree 8 of the scale) was 129, 

 72 of which fell on the spring and summer. Fog was observed 74 days.» 



»The quantity of rain and snow was estimated to 988 mm. One day, the 7th 

 of Aug. 1883, the considerable quantity of 75,5 mm. was measured. The measuring 

 of the fallen snow was often made difficult by snow-storms. Thunder was not ob- 

 served. The number of days with rain or snow was" 301, and snow fell 223 days 47 

 of which belonged tö the summer. The quantity of snow is probably very different 

 winters. During Mr. Sörling's stay on the island during the winter 1905 the ground 

 round Cumberland Bay was always covered with .snow and during the year 1882 the 

 quantity of snow was considerable but during the winter 1883 the ground was often 

 bare, a fact which the members of the expedition put in connection with the prevail- 



