Summer Solstice, the Longest Day of the Year, falls on June 21. This intriguing event usually occurs between June 20 to June 22, every year, depending upon when the Sun is directly overhead the Tropic of Cancer at noon. The other names of Summer Solstice are Estival solstice or midsummer. This will happen around 9:02 am today (Indian Standard Time).
What leads to summer solstice?
The Northern Hemisphere gets more direct sunlight between March and September over the course of a day as the Earth rotates on its axis. This means people living in the Northern Hemisphere experience summer during this time, the Indian Express reported. The rest of the year, the Southern Hemisphere gets more sunlight. While the northern hemisphere gets more light and heat from the Sun owing to the earth's axis’ maximum inclination towards the Sun on June 21, the southern hemisphere has completely the opposite experience.
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During the solstice, the Earth’s axis is tilted in a way that the North Pole is tipped towards the sun and the South Pole is away from it.
The solstice, as NASA puts it, is that instant in time when the North Pole points more directly toward the sun that at any other time during the year. Solstice means “sun stands still” in Latin.
According to NASA, the amount of incoming energy the Earth received from the sun on this day is 30 per cent higher at the North Pole than at the Equator.
How many hours of sunlight will we today?
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In New Delhi, sunrise will be at 5:23 am and sunset at 7:21 pm, the day length being 13:58:01. Further south in Mumbai, sunrise will be at 6:02 am and sunset at 7:18 pm, and the day length will be lower at 13:16:20. Even closer to the equator in Chennai, sunrise will be at 5:43 am, sunset at 6:37 pm, and day length lowest among major cities at 12:53:48.
