Solstice Starts the Shortest Season


Solstice Starts the Shortest Season
December first light in Pittsburgh (picture by way of Kate St. John)

21 December 2023

When the solar stands nonetheless this night at 10:27pm Jap Time we’ll revel in the shortest day of the yr and start the shortest season as smartly.

Irrespective of the elements we modify seasons 4 occasions a yr according to astronomical occasions: December solstice, March equinox, June solstice, September equinox. Since those occasions happen on the similar second in all places on Earth, each and every of the 4 seasons lasts an identical quantity of time for everybody. That is very best to peer at the Seasons web page at timeanddate.com. A screenshot of Pittsburgh at 6am nowadays is proven beneath.

Present and subsequent seasons in Pittsburgh earlier than the iciness solstice (screenshot from timeanddate.com)

In the event you don’t like iciness the Northern Hemisphere has the most productive association. Our astronomical seasons from shortest to longest are:

  • Iciness = 88 days, 23 hrs, 39 minutes (shortest)
  • Autumn = 89 days, 20 hrs, 37 minutes
  • Spring = 92 days, 17 hrs, 44 minutes
  • Summer time = 93 days, 15 hrs, 52 minutes (longest)

Local weather alternate promises that iciness is the shortest climate season, too. Iciness used to be 21% of the yr in 1952 however will soak up simplest 9% of the yr by way of the top of this century.

Reasonable seasonal lengths in Northern Hemisphere, data from Phys.org

So I’m now not depending on a white Christmas.

Learn extra concerning the weather-based lengths of the seasons at:

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