The beginning of summer in the northern hemisphere is defined by the instant in which the Earth passes through the point in its orbit from which the Sun presents its maximum northern declination. The day this happens, The Sun reaches its highest elevation above the horizon at noon and describes the longest arc in the sky. As a result, that is the day with the most hours of sunshine of the year. Furthermore, for several days the maximum height of the Sun at noon seems not to change, and because of this, the beginning of summer is also called Summer Solstice (from Latin solstitium, still sun).
It is one of the most notable astronomical events of the year, and also one of the most celebrated. Specifically, it refers to the time when one of the Earth’s hemispheres is in the middle and the globe is tilted as close as possible to the Sun, so it receives maximum daylight. On the contrary, in the southern hemisphere the winter solstice takes place.
Although the day of the summer solstice corresponds to the day with the greatest number of hours of sunshine, the difference in hours between day and night depends on the latitude of the place. For the latitude of Madrid, the day of the summer solstice will have15 hours and 3 minutes from the Sun, to compare with the 9 hours and 17 minutes of Sol that had the shortest day (winter solstice). The difference between the longest and shortest day is, therefore, almost six hours of sunshine. As we approach the equator, this difference decreases, while at the Earth’s poles the difference is maximum.
In the northern hemisphere, it corresponds to the longest day and the shortest night, and determines the change of season. The summer of 2024 in the northern hemisphere will begin on the day June 20 at 10:51 p.m. official peninsular time, according to calculations by the National Astronomical Observatory, dependent on the National Geographic Institute of the Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility.
This season will last approximately 93 days and 16 hours, ending on September 22 with the beginning of autumn.
The months of July, August and September 2024 will most likely be warmer than normal with rains that could also be scarcer than usual, depending on the progress of the climate report which was presented on Wednesday by the State Meteorological Agency (Aemet), dependent on the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge.
del Campo, who explained that this summer he could be placed among the warmest 20% recorded in the northern third of the peninsula and the easternmost Canary Islands. Specifically, there is between a 50 and 70% chance that this will be the case, although he has clarified that in the rest of Spain this probability is lower.
In this next quarter, we expect less than normal rainfall, especially in the north and in parts of the interior of the Peninsula. Even so, he has asked for “caution” in this prediction compared to the temperature prediction, “which seems clearer.”
