Although he may never go there, reader Jim Purcell suggests that The San Diego Union-Tribune add forecasts for the 300-year-old Russian city of Irkutsk to its Weather page.
“Mother Russia stretches all across Asia,” he wrote. It covers 11 time zones, “and only Moscow is listed,” Purcell said in an e-mail response to last week’s invitation to nominate two cities for the “Global roundup.” Editors will consider nominations in making their decisions.
Irkutsk “is on the Trans-Siberian Railway and adjacent to Lake Baikal, the world’s deepest (lake),” wrote the Vista resident about the city that has a population of more than 590,000.
“I may never visit Irkutsk but would enjoy following the temperatures in Siberia,” he wrote. “I read that ice fishing is done through ice five feet thick.”
The Siberian city was among more than two dozen locations suggested for the “Global roundup.” Some readers made extensive studies before submitting suggestions.
“I’m a geography trivialist and a college student at UCSD,” wrote Mark Rafferty. “I love the Weather page and the random assortment of cities” listed in the Global roundup. However, for the life of me, I can’t figure out how they decide on the ones they list.”
Rafferty dismissed some of the cities he initially thought of suggesting because they were too near to some that were already on the list. Finally, he narrowed it down to Reykjavik, Iceland, and Pago Pago, American Samoa.
Greg Hanson of San Diego went to the trouble of printing out a basic world map from the Internet and plotting out the locations of all the cities listed in the “Global roundup.” “I suspected that certain areas of the globe would be heavily represented and others almost ignored, and my plot proved this to be correct. Europe and Canada are both heavily covered and Africa and Central Asia are mostly ignored.”
Hanson suggested adding Jakarta, Indonesia, to the list, noting it is the “capital of the fourth most populous country in the world” where about 87 percent of the 232 million population is Muslim. He also suggested Lagos, Nigeria, saying it is “one of the world’s fastest growing cities in the most populous country in Africa.”
Hanson also suggested dropping a few cities already on the list and replacing them with less Euro-centric locations. “With more and more immigrants from other parts of the world settling in the United States, it’s time to include the homes of some of these people as well.”
He noted there were 10 European cities on the list all within a 400-mile radius. “How different can the weather be? Drop Frankfurt and Berlin and maybe Amsterdam or Copenhagen,” he suggested. “Drop Edmonton (Canada). As my Calgary native co-worker says, 10 degrees colder than Calgary, 10 degrees warmer than Winnipeg.
“Drop Istanbul. Yes, I know its historical significance, but it’s also 300 miles from Ankara and like distance from Athens.” He suggested adding Nairobi, Kenya; Tehran, Iran; or Islamabad, Pakistan; or Kabul, Afghanistan; Bombay and/or Calcutta in India. “Saying New Delhi is representative of the weather in India is like saying that Las Vegas is representative of the weather in California, Nevada, Arizona and Utah.” He also suggested adding Novosibirsk in the center of Russia.
Brian Shue of El Centro suggested adding Kabul “because not only would it serve as a reminder to the general public that we still have many of our U.S. armed forces in Afghanistan but also it can be another connection for our local families of the brave men and women serving our country in that region.”
Chris Winkle of Pacific Beach suggested locations in the central and South Pacific Islands, including Pago Pago. “There are large numbers of people of Samoan origin living in California and a large community of Pacific Islanders and Guamanians in San Diego,” he pointed out. His nominations include Papeete, Tahiti; Apia, Western Samoa; and Nadi or Suva in Fiji. He also suggested Belize City in Central America.
Sally M. Gall of La Jolla suggested that to be truly global, the roundup could include weather stations closest to the North and South Poles or from the locations farthest north and farthest south that are inhabited year around and that have weather stations. “Or,” she wrote, “choose something arbitrary but catchy, like Qaanaaq (Arctic) and McMurdo (Antarctic).
Among other suggestions were the Czech Republic from reader George Leitner who noted that’s where the San Diego Choral Arts Ensemble will begin its 2003 Europe concert tour; Sao Paulo, Brazil, from John Mullen; and Kiev from Norm Elfstrom. Readers Lauren Eldridge and Thelma Bolam suggested Halifax, Nova Scotia. La Dona Wilkie made a case for Adelaide, Australia. Larry O’Brien nominated Yellowknife, Canada. And Mack Burke and Paul and Marilyn Pluss put in votes for Zurich, Switzerland. Shirley Larson put in a plug for Shanghai, China, and St. Petersburg, Russia.
