Latest news with #daylight
Washington Post
9 hours ago
- Climate
- Washington Post
What to know about the summer solstice, the longest, brightest day of the year
Summer officially begins Friday, June 20, at 10:41 p.m. Eastern time. That's the precise moment of the summer solstice — making for the longest, brightest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. Temperatures are toasty and the humidity is sweltering across much of the Lower 48. There's no denying it's summer. On Friday, Washington, D.C., will enjoy 14 hours and 54 minutes of daylight. Dallas will get 14 hours and 19 minutes, and Seattle will get just shy of 16 hours. Remember — the days will be longest farther north, with the fewest daylight hours in the Southern Hemisphere. There's more annual variation in day length toward the poles, and the most consistency at the equator. The summer solstice has to do with Earth's tilt on its axis. Because of our 23.5-degree tilt, the amount — and intensity — of sunlight any given area receives varies throughout the year. For half the year, the sun's most direct rays shine on the Northern Hemisphere; the other half of the year, the Southern Hemisphere. Since our tilt is 23.5 degrees, that means the sun's direct rays fall between 23.5 degrees north and 23.5 degrees south latitude at all times throughout the year. Those lines represent the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn. (Technically, the actual latitudes are 23.4394 degrees north and south.) On the June solstice, the sun shines directly on the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere. That means that, poleward of that line, everyone in the Northern Hemisphere is experiencing their longest, brightest day. And if you stand on that line, you'll have no shadow at noon — the sun will be directly over you. After Friday, the sun's most direct rays begin retreating southward again. On the autumnal (fall) equinox, or Monday, Sept. 22, those most intense rays will cross into the Southern Hemisphere. Our days will get shorter and darker until the winter solstice on Dec. 21. Even as the days get shorter, that doesn't mean it will start getting cooler. There's something called seasonal lag that prevents that from happening. The atmosphere has a certain amount of thermal inertia, or resistance to changing temperature. Light hits the ground and is converted to heat, which is dispersed through the atmosphere. The diffusion of that heat takes a while. The lag — or time between greatest amount of sunlight and warmest temperatures — is about a month. That's why July tends to be the hottest month for North America, Europe and Asia. Technically speaking, every place on Earth gets about the same duration of sunlight every year. It would be exactly the same if we were a perfect sphere, but between mountains and Earth's equator, which bulges outward 27 miles, it's a bit imperfect. What varies is the intensity of the daylight. Take the north pole, for example. Even on the summer solstice, the sun is very low in the sky. The sunlight comes at a steep angle and is weak — which is why it's so cold at the poles. Day length changes the most at the poles and changes the least at the equator. At the equator, every day is a little more than 12 hours long. In the Arctic and Antarctic circles, there's at least one day per year with 24 hours of sunlight, and another with 24 hours of darkness. At the mid-latitudes, people experience a couple of hours of variation, but it's not that extreme. In D.C., for instance, the summer solstice has 14 hours and 53 minutes of sunshine. The winter solstice has just 9 hours and 26 minutes.
ABC News
12 hours ago
- Climate
- ABC News
Winter solstice is on Saturday but it won't bring Australia's coldest weather
This Saturday is the 2025 winter solstice, Australia's shortest day of the year. How many hours of daylight you experience depends entirely on latitude — Hobart will see only 9 hours and 1 minute while Darwin will see 11 hours and 24 minutes. For remaining capitals, running south to north: The variation in the length of day through the year, and indeed the very existence of seasons, is due to the Earth's tilt of 23.5 degrees. As we orbit the Sun, this tilt leads to changes in the length of day and the angle of the Sun viewed from the ground — it's higher in summer and lower in winter. Saturday, the winter solstice, marks the day when the Sun is furthest north, tracking directly over the Tropic of Cancer. The exact time of this year's solstice is 12:42pm for eastern states and just after midday for the NT and SA, meaning the longest night of the year will follow immediately after. For WA, a 10:42am solstice will result in Friday night being the longest of the year. From this position over the Northern Hemisphere, Australia is not only in Earth's shadow for the longest period, but critically for temperatures, it's also when the Sun's noon position is lowest in the sky. From a simple energy perspective, the winter solstice therefore has the least amount of incoming heat directly from sunlight. However, for nearly the whole of Australia, the coldest weather does not arrive when the days are shortest. For the vast majority of the country, the coldest month is July, and for some locations, the coldest day on average is not until early August, even though days are longer and the Sun's angle is higher. The cause of the temporal anomaly between the shortest day and coldest temperatures is due to the different heat capacities of substances. Put simply, land regions warm up and cool down much faster than oceans. This property is demonstrated daily as air temperatures fluctuate sharply between day and night, while water temperatures remain steady regardless of the hour. Water, therefore, is said to have a greater heat capacity than land, which leads to an annual minimum temperature for waters surrounding Australia occurring mostly between July and September — well after the Southern Hemisphere's shortest day in June. The warmer oceans earlier in winter act as one giant heater — they transfer energy into the atmosphere and delay the coldest weather until well after incoming heat from the sun reaches a minimum on June 21. This delay is called seasonal lag, and it also occurs after the summer solstice in December, with the hottest weather in southern Australia not arriving until January. The coldest weather in any given year is determined by the exact timing of weather systems; however, on average, due to seasonal lag, it occurs a few weeks after the winter solstice. The delay is greatest in regions where the climate is influenced by neighbouring oceans — so coastal areas of southern Australia have a longer temperature lag than inland regions. For maximum temperatures, the absolute peak lag is about five weeks in south-west Tasmania and on the southern WA coast near Albany. For Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide the coldest day of the year — on average — lands in the second or third week of July. Unsurprisingly, parts of the central interior, well away from oceans, have a lag of only a few days. The seasonal changes in daytime temperatures across northern Australia are more intricate due to the contrast in cloud cover through the year — there are even small regions that have their average lowest winter maximums a few days before the winter solstice. The national variability in minimum temperatures is far more uniform, with well over 90 per cent of Australia, including the northern tropics, having its coldest night between July 11 and 21. Seasonal lag is even greater in some Northern Hemisphere coastal regions, depending on the time of year. San Francisco's warmest month of the year is not until September, a full three months after the summer solstice, during which time the length of day has already shortened by more than two hours. Of course, thanks to the natural variability of weather, the actual date of the coldest weather will vary considerably from year to year — even though this is far more likely to occur in winter. According to the Bureau of Meteorology, for the northern tropics, the coldest day of the year across a 30-year period can occur in most months. For most of southern and central Australia, the range is from April or May to anytime between August and November.
BBC News
17 hours ago
- Science
- BBC News
Summer solstice 2025: When is it and what does it mean?
For some it marks a celebration at dawn. For others, it is the start of summer and the promise of warmer days to summer solstice is the longest day of the year, meaning the day with the most hours of year, the summer solstice in the Northern Hemisphere falls on Saturday, 21 with parts of the UK already experiencing their first heatwave of the year it's likely to be a warm one. Why does the date change? The solstice always occurs between June 20 and 22, and during a leap year, it typically falls on June exact date shifts slightly each year because the calendar year doesn't perfectly match the time it takes for the Earth to orbit the fact, the Earth takes nearly a quarter of a day longer to complete its orbit each year than our calendar accounts discrepancy is why we add a leap day every four years—to keep the calendar aligned with Earth's orbit Why does the amount of sunlight vary? Our planet does not spin on a perfectly vertical axis — it is tilt causes the amount of sunlight that reaches different regions of Earth to change throughout the year as it orbits the half the year, the northern half of the Earth is tilted toward the Sun. On the summer solstice, the Northern Hemisphere is tilted most directly toward the Sun, and the Sun appears directly overhead at the Tropic of this tilt, we would still experience weather, but not distinct seasons, as the amount of daylight would remain nearly constant throughout the word solstice comes from the Latin words sol (sun) and sistere (to stand still), referring to the apparent pause in the Sun's movement across the sky. How much daylight will there be? Due to the tilt of the Earth, the period of daylight will be longer at higher this time, Norway, Finland, Greenland, Alaska and other polar regions experience 'midnight sun'. And across the Arctic Circle, down to a latitude of 23.5 degrees from the North Pole (matching the tilt of the Earth), the Sun does not set at it may be the longest day but it is not the latest sunset or the earliest sunrise. The earliest sunrises happen before the summer solstice, and the latest sunsets happen after. Check sunrise and sunset times where you are on the BBC Weather app and website. Is this the start of summer? Meteorologically, we are nearly a month into summer. Astronomically, however, the solstice marks the beginning of most people refer to the first day of summer, they mean astronomical summer—the summer contrast, meteorologists define summer in the Northern Hemisphere as beginning on June 1 and ending on August seasons are divided into four three-month periods, which makes it easier to compare seasonal statistics. Will this be the warmest summer solstice on record? Some parts of the UK are already experiencing their first heatwave of the year and forecasters expect temperatures to peak at around 33C on it is unlikely to be the highest temperature experienced on the day of the summer solstice. That record was set in 2017 at Heathrow Airport when 34.5C was while the summer solstice is the day with the most sunlight, the UK's weather becomes hotter later in the summer, when more heat has accumulated in the air and the ground.
BBC News
2 days ago
- Science
- BBC News
Summer Solstice 2025: What is it and how is it celebrated?
The summer solstice is the longest day of the year, meaning it's the day that we get the most amount of the northern hemisphere - where the UK is located - it will occur on Saturday 21 June summer solstice also marks the end of spring and the official start of is the opposite of the winter solstice, which is the shortest day of the year and has the fewest hours of daylight. Why is the Summer Solstice the longest day of the year? We get the most hours of daylight on this day because of the position of the Earth in relation to the happens when the Earth's geographical pole - on either the northern or southern hemisphere - becomes most inclined towards the the summer solstice takes place in the northern hemisphere, the Sun will reach its highest possible point. For the UK, this will happen at of this, the day ends up being the sunniest day of the year. Even if it's wet or cloudy that day, we will technically get the most amount of the Earth turns on a slight tilt, the amount of sunlight that reaches different areas of Earth changes throughout the year, as we orbit the axis is the point at which the Earth turns - ours isn't perfectly straight up, so the Earth rotates at a tilt. Why doesn't the Sun set in some parts of the world? Around the time of the summer solstice, areas of Norway, Finland, Iceland, Greenland, Alaska and other polar regions experience midnight sun - or 24 hours of is because the Sun does not set below the the Arctic Circle, the Sun does not set at all. The world 'solstice' comes from the Latin solstitium meaning 'Sun stands still', What does Stonehenge have to do with the Summer Solstice? Summer solstice is celebrated by people across the the UK, many gather at Stonehenge, which is believed to have been used as an important religious site by early Britons some 4,000 years the summer solstice, the central Altar stone at Stonehenge aligns with the Heel stone, the Slaughter stone and the rising Sun to the north year, lots of people gather to celebrate the solstice, with pagan songs and dancing.
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Travel + Leisure
30-05-2025
- General
- Travel + Leisure
These 3 European Cities Are Tied for the Longest Daylight Hours in June
Ever wish your vacation days could last just a little longer? Then you may want to book your next getaway to a spot with 24-hour sunshine. In May, Monteriver, a river tour company, released its findings of a new study analyzing the European cities with the longest daylight hours in June. To find out which spots have the longest days, it analyzed data from Astropixels and Time&Date. It found that three destinations experience 24-hour daylight in June: Murmansk in Russia, Bodø in Norway, and Rovaniemi in Finland. This natural phenomenon is known as the "Midnight Sun" and occurs in regions north of the Arctic Circle each summer, where the sun never dips below the horizon line. As explains, it's caused by the "Earth's axial tilt as the planet orbits the sun." This tilt, it says, "causes one hemisphere to be angled toward the sun and the other away from it, and it is why there are opposite seasons in the Northern and Southern hemispheres." During the June solstice, the North Pole is tilted toward the sun. "From the northern polar region, the sun never appears to set below the horizon. This is when the northern polar region experiences the midnight sun and the southern polar region experiences 24 hours of darkness, known as the polar night," adds. And while, yes, it can be a bit disorienting for those not used to it, it's also a major tourism draw for those looking to squeeze every last drop out of a summer adventure. In Bodø, Norway, that extra light means more time exploring some of Scandinavia's most dramatic natural spaces. Travelers here can also go on a short drive to Saltstraumen to view the world's strongest tidal current. Travelers can also hike the Børvasstindan mountains for spectacular views or simply bask in the sun at 3 a.m. just because they can. In Rovaniemi, Finland, also known as the official hometown of Santa Claus, travelers can bike through its forest trails, go foraging for wild berries, or hang out by the serene Kemijoki River. Locals also love a good sauna followed by refreshing dips in cool water, and welcome guests to try it out for themselves, too. It's worth noting that Murmansk, Russia, the largest city located entirely within the Arctic Circle, also experiences 24-hour sun; however, the U.S. Department of State has all of Russia under a level 4 "Do Not Travel" advisory, making travel here impractical and potentially dangerous, for now. And while they don't experience that same round-the-clock sun, hot spots like Reykjavik, Iceland, also made the list, with 21 hours and eight minutes of sun, along with Helsinki at 18 hours and 55 minutes, and Oslo closely behind at 18 hours and 49 minutes. On the flip side, sun-soaked southern favorites like Athens and Madrid, despite being well-known for their summer heat, ranked as the last two on the list, as Madrid receives just over 15 hours of daylight and Athens receives just 14 hours and 48 minutes of daylight.
