By J. Jala| 10:34 AM June 21, 2022
The Philippines today, June 21, will experience its longest daytime and shortest nighttime, in an astronomical event known as “summer solstice.”
The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said the summer solstice will fall on June 21 at 5:14 p.m. (Philippine Time).
On Tuesday, the country’s daytime will last for 12 hours, 59 minutes, and 27 seconds, as the sun will rise at 5:28 a.m. and will set at 6:27 p.m.
The June solstice marks the official beginning of summer in the Northern Hemisphere. As the Farmer’s Almanac explains, it occurs when Earth arrives at the point in its orbit where the North Pole is at its maximum tilt — about 23.5 degrees — toward the sun.
This results in the longest “day,” meaning the longest period of sunlight hours.
The word “solstice” comes from the Latin word “solstitium” — and from “sol” (Sun) and “stitium” (still or stopped), according to the periodical. The sun doesn’t rise and set at the same locations on the horizon each day due to Earth’s tilted axis. Its rise and set positions move northward or southward in the sky as our planet travels around the sun throughout the year.
“The June solstice is significant because the Sun reaches its northernmost point in the sky at this time, at which point the Sun’s path does not change for a brief period of time,” the Farmer’s Almanac explains.
While the temperatures may already feel like summer, the official start of the season begins on Tuesday in the Northern Hemisphere — an event known as the summer solstice.
During the June solstice, the sun travels along its northernmost path in the sky for the northern half of the globe, which results in the longest day and shortest night of the calendar year.
In the Southern Hemisphere, the June solstice marks the beginning of winter.