Europe and North America are generally regarded as the continents entirely within the Northern Hemisphere. The Northern Hemisphere is the half of Earth north of the Equator, extending from zero degrees latitude to the North Pole at 90 degrees north. Europe lies wholly north of the Equator, as does North America. Asia is not entirely Northern Hemisphere because the Equator crosses Indonesia. Africa is not entirely Northern Hemisphere because the Equator crosses central Africa. South America is not entirely Northern Hemisphere because most of it lies south of the Equator. Australia and Antarctica are wholly Southern Hemisphere continents.
Europe is entirely north of the Equator and occupies a broad range of latitudes from the Mediterranean region through northern Scandinavia and Iceland. Its northernmost territories approach the Arctic region, while its southern regions reach the subtropical and Mediterranean climatic zones. Europe therefore contains considerable climatic diversity despite its relatively small continental area. Its location entirely within the Northern Hemisphere means that seasonal solar patterns are those of the Northern Hemisphere, with summer generally occurring around June to August and winter around December to February, although local climates vary considerably.
North America is also entirely north of the Equator. The continent extends from the Arctic Archipelago and Greenland in the far north through Canada and the United States to Mexico and the Central American landmass. Its southernmost continental areas remain north of zero degrees latitude, meaning that no part of mainland North America crosses the Equator. The continent therefore contains Arctic, subarctic, temperate, subtropical and tropical climates while remaining wholly within the Northern Hemisphere. This demonstrates again that hemispheric position does not determine climate by itself.
Asia is frequently mistaken for an entirely Northern Hemisphere continent because most of its land area lies north of the Equator. However, Indonesia contains islands crossed by or lying south of the Equator, and the geographical region assigned to Asia therefore extends into the Southern Hemisphere. This makes Asia a cross hemispheric continent. The same principle applies to some transcontinental and island regions whose classification can vary between geographical systems. A continent can have the majority of its area in one hemisphere while still not being entirely confined to that hemisphere.
Africa provides another important example. The Equator crosses Africa, so the continent extends into both hemispheres. A large part of Africa lies north of the Equator, including the Sahara and much of North and West Africa, but substantial areas of Central, East and Southern Africa lie south of it. South America has the opposite pattern, with most of its area south of the Equator but a smaller northern section extending into the Northern Hemisphere. These examples show why hemispheric classification requires examining the actual latitude of the continents rather than assuming it from their general geographic position.
The Northern Hemisphere contains substantially more land than the Southern Hemisphere. This asymmetry has important consequences for climate because land and ocean heat differently. Large Northern Hemisphere landmasses produce strong seasonal temperature contrasts, particularly in continental interiors. Eurasia and North America have extensive high latitude and mid latitude land areas, while the Southern Hemisphere is dominated by ocean. The Northern Hemisphere also contains most of the worlds human population, largely because Europe, Asia, North America and northern parts of Africa contain extensive habitable regions and historically dense settlement zones.
Continental classifications can become complicated when islands and political territories are considered. Greenland is geographically part of North America despite being politically associated with Denmark, while Iceland is geographically associated with Europe even though it lies close to the boundary between the Atlantic and Arctic regions. Some countries have territories outside their main continental landmass. For hemispheric questions, the safest approach is to distinguish the geographical continent from political jurisdiction. Otherwise, an overseas territory can appear to change the hemispheric classification of a continent even though the continental landmass itself remains entirely north or south of the Equator.
The standard answer is therefore Europe and North America. Both continents have all of their continental landmass north of the Equator. Asia and Africa are crossed by the Equator, South America extends into both hemispheres, and Australia and Antarctica are entirely Southern Hemisphere continents. This classification is a geographical description based on latitude rather than an assessment of climate, culture or political identity. It also demonstrates why the Equator is a particularly useful reference line for continental geography: it divides the world into two hemispheres and allows continents to be classified according to whether they lie wholly within one hemisphere or extend across both.
