This chart shows 46 world cities plotted by their average temperature, precipitation, and sunshine hours during April.

Normal temperatures this month at Hong Kong, Hilo, Honolulu, Miami, and Rio de Janeiro are all very similar, ranging from 22.5°C at Hong Kong to 24.5°C at Rio de Janeiro, yet there are major differences in sunshine hours, with a range from 102 at Hong Kong to 294 at Miami. These differences in sunshine hours translate into differences in photosynthetically active radiation, producing completely different growing environments for grass, despite the similar temperatures that are suitable for the growth of warm-season grasses.

This difference is exemplified by Honolulu and Hilo. These cities are only 340 km apart, but when looking at the climate, we see that Hilo has more in common with Hong Kong and Rio de Janeiro than it does with Honolulu. I visited Hilo and Honolulu last month and experienced this difference in climate. These pictures show what the climate chart predicts.