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There are very few people who don't enjoy the light evenings that allow the day to feel so much longer at this time of year.
Daylight patterns are different all over the world but right now in Europe, people are enjoying having daylight until pushing 10 pm. The culmination of this is the Summer Solstice, or as many may know it better, the longest day of the year.
This is when the sun rises earlier than any other day, and sets later than any other day. By comparison, the Winter Solstice comes just before Christmas Day and is the shortest day of the year.
What is the Summer Solstice?
The Summer Solstice is when the earth is tilted at its maximum towards the sun. That means the sun is at its highest possible elevation at noon and then has the longest way to go before setting. The feeling between Summer Solstice and the handful of days on either side of it is almost unrecognizable, but one day is always slightly longer.
The summer solstice occurs when the sun is directly over the Tropic of Cancer, which is located at 23.5 degrees latitude North, and runs through Mexico, the Bahamas, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, India, and southern China. For everyone that lives to the north of the Tropic of Cancer, it is the longest day of the year.
As for the Winter Solstice, that occurs in the Northern Hemisphere when the sun is directly over the Tropic of Capricorn, which is located at 23.5 degrees south of the equator and runs through Australia, Chile, southern Brazil, and northern South Africa.
The longest day is not traditionally the warmest day of the year as there is a lag between the two.