How can the heat of summer and the cold of winter be from the breath of Hell, given the succession and variation of seasons between the two hemispheres, and the existence of regions that do not experience the heat of summer?

The default is to believe what the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said. It is narrated in the Hadith that Hellfire complained to its Lord, so He permitted it two breaths: one breath in winter, which is the most intense cold or zamhareer you experience, and one breath in summer, which is the most intense heat you experience. Scholars attributed the reason for the variation in heat and cold to Hellfire. Despite the varying conditions of the earth, intense heat is caused by the heat of Hellfire transmitted through the sun, and intense cold also comes from Hellfire. It appears that Hellfire contains both heat and cold simultaneously.

Ibn Abd al-Barr said: The Hadith indicates that the breath of Hellfire in winter and summer is different from winter and summer [on earth]. Al-Hasan al-Basri explained this by saying that any cold that destroys something is from its zamhareer, and any scorching wind that destroys something is from its heat.

Scholars reconciled the presence of both cold and heat in Hellfire by stating that Hell has corners with fire and corners with zamhareer, and that Hellfire is an matter of the Hereafter that cannot be compared to this world.

Al-Mubarakfuri said: The intensity of heat is truly from the exhalation of Hellfire, and this is the correct view, as it is the apparent meaning of the Hadith. And that the reason for the intensification of heat and cold on Earth is the breathing of Hell, even though the proximity and distance of the sun are a tangible cause for this.

Shaykh Ibn Uthaymeen clarified that inanimate objects have sensation, and that the intensity of heat is from the exhalation of Hellfire, and the intensity of cold is from the zamhareer of Hellfire. He explained this by stating that there is a tangible cause behind it, and a religious cause that can only be understood through revelation. There is no contradiction between them, similar to solar and lunar eclipses, which have tangible causes and a religious cause, which is Allah's way of frightening His servants.