The northern hemisphere of the earth has more extreme temperature differences between the seasons overall, in contrast to the southern hemisphere. Summers are hotter, winters colder than comparable places of the same latitude. How do such differences occur between places that are the same distance from the equator?

Temperature is not only influenced by the distance to the equator, but also by geographical features and land and water masses. The seasons are caused by the rotation of the Earth. Because the Earth has an oblique axis that does not move as it rotates, the planet receives different amounts of solar radiation over the course of a year. The sun's rays are absorbed by the Earth's surface. In July, for example, the absorption of the Earth's surface is much higher in the northern hemisphere than in the southern hemisphere because the angle of radiation is more direct.

Land and water masses react differently to solar radiation. Water has a high thermal inertia, so it takes a greater amount of thermal radiation to heat water. Conversely, it takes longer for water to cool down. On average, it takes three times as much energy to heat water as it does to heat land, while water cools down three times slower. So a surface with large amounts of water takes longer to absorb the heat and raise the air temperature, despite direct sunlight.
The largest land masses are in the northern hemisphere, while the southern hemisphere consists mainly of water masses. The proportion between land and water is therefore much higher in the northern hemisphere.
North America has a more extensive spread than the continents of South America or Australia, which lie south of the equator. The oceans therefore play a greater role in temperature south of the equator than north. Since global warming as well as the overall cooling of the earth takes longer from the southern hemisphere, the seasons are more balanced.

The thermal inertia of the water is also the reason why coastal areas generally have a more balanced climate than inland areas.