Summer is upon us, but when will it arrive? The question may seem trivial and the answer obvious.
But let’s see how things are. The first signs are all there. The mercury rises and the temperatures become muggy, already scorching hot in the south of the country, while in the city the evenings are spent with ice creams and cold drinks. But when will the longest day be?
Summer solstice: the meaning
Notoriously, the summer solstice coincides with June 21st, the longest day of the season, or when the Sun at midday, along the Tropic of Cancer, reaches the zenith and its rays fall perpendicularly on the earth allowing a greater amount of light. In Italy we talk about about 15 “clear” hours. And out of the 24 that make up a day, only 9 are left of darkness. This year, however, astronomical calculations tell us something else.
Summer, when the longest day
In fact, the longest day of the year will be tomorrow, Thursday 20 June, when the sun reaches its highest point in the sky. The long-awaited event which will officially kick off the summer season will coincide with 10.51pm Italian time. However, for many of us, summer has already begun at the beginning of the month, when – apart from a few storms – the increase in temperatures made us perceive the change of season. But what happens if the astronomical summer precedes the meteorological one? Nothing alarming, in fact the solstice does not always occur on the same day and at the same time, because the duration of the sidereal year is approximately 365 days and 6 hours, while our calendar is divided into exactly 365 days. This is why the date of the solstice can vary between June 20th and 22nd.
