Is there really a blazing sun in the tropics?

Solar irradiation graphic by William Connolley based on HadCM3 data.

The heat was growing worse and worse. April was nearly over, but there was no hope of rain for another three weeks, five weeks it might be. Even the lovely transient dawns were spoiled by the thought of the long, blinding hours to come, when one's head would ache, and the glare would penetrate through every covering and glue up one's eyelids with restless sleep. No one, Oriental or European, could keep awake in the heat of day without a struggle.  --George Orwell, Burmese Days TNR 16

Actually, the sun in SE Asia is not especially blazing, rather 50 to 75 percent blazing. George Orwell is not really talking about the heat of the sun in his novel/memoir Burmese Days, it's mainly really.... other stuff that make it so uncomfortable. We'll be looking at all that.

But for now, take a look at this map which shows how much energy actually reaches the earth on the average over a year. Thailand -- and much of SE Asia including Orwell's Burma, is about 200 watts per square meter over the year, the same as the US south and most of the central and South America.

And why aren't we seeing a smooth red belt of blazing heat right across the map in the tropical region between The Tropic of Cancer and The Tropic of Capricon? Because over much of the area, high water vapor including clouds are blocking 25 to 50 percent of the solar radiation. This potent factor may be enough to offset global warming in these regions.