When is the first day of summer? Here's what to know about the summer solstice
If you have been outside recently in our desert, you may have noticed that springtime is quickly fading. The weather is getting warmer, the sun is out for a lot longer, and so you are probably asking yourself: Is summer here already?
For folks in the northern hemisphere of the planet, summer officially starts with the summer solstice. This year the solstice falls on June 21, 2023. The solstice will arrive at 7:57 a.m. Arizona time. This is when the planet will have reached its max tilt toward the sun.
So before we start hitting multiple triple-digit temperature days in a row, here’s what you need to know about the start of summer.
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When is the first day of summer?
The beginning of summer can feel different for everyone, depending on people's own calendars, academic calendars, work schedules and so on. However, traditionally the start of summer is marked by the summer solstice.
As The Old Farmer’s Almanac writes about the start of summer, “It depends on whether we’re speaking about the meteorological or astronomical start of the season.” If you are a meteorologist, the summer season goes from June 1 to Aug. 31.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration defines the summer solstice as, "When the sun is directly over the Tropic of Cancer, which is located at 23.5° latitude North, and runs through Mexico, the Bahamas, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, India, and southern China."
For this reason, many in the northern hemisphere see this day as the start of the summer season.
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Is June 21 the longest day of the year?
The summer solstice typically lands on June 21. However, the solstice can happen anytime between June 20 and June 22. This really depends on where the planet's tilt toward the sun is at the maximum angle.
As we know, the Earth orbits at a tilt around the sun, meaning that the closer you are to the North Pole, the more sunlight you will get due to the time the sun spends on the horizon of the planet.
Depending on where you are, you may experience a different length of sunlight during your day this year. If you find yourself in Arizona on June 21, 2023, you can expect 14 hours and 22 minutes of sunlight, according to timeanddate.com.
Why is it called the summer solstice?
The observance of the summer solstice is an old tradition with no clarity on its origin. So much so that researchers say it is "spectacularly unanswerable" according to Time Magazine.
However, we do know where the origin of the name comes from. The Latin word solstitium, a combination of sol, meaning sun, and stitium, meaning still or stopped, is how we got the English word solstice.
When does summer end?
The end of summer is marked by the autumn equinox. This is the halfway point between when days in the northern hemisphere are the longest and shortest.
The autumn equinox will land on Sept. 22 at 11:49 p.m.
Have a question you need answered? Reach the reporter at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @raphaeldelag.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: First day of summer 2023: Everything to know about the solstice