Summer Solstice, 21st June: Longest Day of the Year

Table of Contents

21st June is referred to as the “ Summer Solstice” i.e the longest day of the year. The longest day of 2021 for those living north of the Equator is the summer solstice. In technical terms, today is mentioned because June 21, the longest day of the summer season. It occurs when the sun is directly over the Tropic of Cancer, or more specifically right over 23.5 degrees north latitude. This will happen around 9:02 am on today.

What is the reason behind the Summer Solstice?

Since Earth rotates on its axis, the hemisphere gets more direct sunlight between March and September over the course of each day, which also means people living within the Northern Hemisphere experience summer during this time. The rest of the year, the hemisphere gets more sunlight. During the solstice, the Earth’s axis — around which the earth spins, completing one turn every day — is tilted during a way that the North Pole is tipped towards the sun and the South Pole is away from it.

Typically, this imaginary axis passes throughout the center of the world from top to bottom and is usually tilted at 23.5 degrees with reference to the sun. Therefore, the solstice, as NASA puts it, is that instant in time when the North Pole points more directly toward the sun than at the other time during the year. Solstice means “sun stands still” in Latin. This day is characterized by a greater amount of energy received from the sun. According to NASA, the quantity of incoming energy the world received from the sun today is 30 percent higher at the North Pole than at the Equator.

The maximum amount of sunlight received by the hemisphere during this point is typically on June 20, 21, or 22. In contrast, the Southern Hemisphere receives most sunlight on December 21, 22, or 23 when the northern hemisphere has its longest nights– or the winter solstice.

How many hours of sunlight will we get on Monday?

The amount of light received by a specific area in the Northern Hemisphere during the summer solstice depends on the latitudinal location of the place. The further north one moves from the equator, the more light one receives during June 21. At the Arctic Circle, the sun never sets during the solstice.
At New Delhi, sunrise is going to be at 5:23 am and sunset at 7:21 pm, the day length being 13:58:01. Further south in Mumbai, sunrise is going to be at 6:02 am and sunset at 7:18 pm, and therefore the day length is going to be lower at 13:16:20. Even closer to the equator in Chennai, sunrise is going to be at 5:43 am sunset at 6:37 pm, and day length lowest among major cities at 12:53:48. Solstice”.

As the 21st of June will be the longest day in 2021, it does not necessarily mean that it brings the earliest sunrise or latest sunset. It depends on the latitudinal location of the country.