When is the First Day of Summer 2024? (2024)

FAQs

When is the First Day of Summer 2024? ›

When Is The First Day Of Summer in 2024? The first day of summer arrives with the solstice this year on Thursday, June 20, 2024 at 4:51 p.m. EDT. For those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, Earth is tilting mostly toward the Sun.

The solstices also do not land on the same calendar day every year because the astronomical year is 365.25 days long. As such, the summer solstice for the Northern Hemisphere — also known as the June solstice — currently shifts between June 20, 21 and 22.

In astronomical terms, the start of summer can be defined very precisely: it begins on the summer solstice, which occurs on June 20 or 21 in the Northern Hemisphere and on December 21 or 22 in the Southern Hemisphere.

Astronomically, however, the first day of summer is said to be when the Sun reaches its highest point in the sky, which occurs on the summer solstice (June 20–22). Therefore, the summer solstice is considered to be the first day of summer, astronomically speaking.

December's winter solstice is when the northern half of the Earth is tilted furthest away from the sun, making it the “astronomical” first day of winter. The northern hemisphere will experience the fewest hours of sunlight, making it the shortest day of the year while the night is the longest.

Summer is the warmest time of the year and has the most daylight, so plants grow quickly. In autumn, temperatures drop, and many trees lose their leaves. The four-season year is typical only in the mid-latitudes.

Containing 30 days, June succeeds May and precedes July. It is one of four months to contain 30 days, alongside April, September and November; herein June lies between April, the fourth month of the year, and September—the ninth month of the year.

Jarrett places this season between the middle of August until the first frost, which describes his experience in New England. Warmer climates may feel the change later, in September of March depending on your hemisphere. The Neijing definition would put the late summer at the beginning of August or February.

But the vernal equinox of 2024 had it beat. Because spring began even earlier, at 11:06 p.m. ET, all the time zones in the continental U.S. experienced the first day of spring on the 19th — at 10:06 p.m. in the Central Time Zone, 9:06 p.m. Mountain Time and 8:06 p.m. Pacific Time.

Why isn't June the hottest month? ›

Or think about mountaintops in June. Ice and snow still blanket the ground on some high mountains. The sun has to melt the ice – and warm the oceans – before we feel the most sweltering summer heat. That's why the hot weather lags behind the year's longest day and highest sun.

For every place north of the Tropic of Cancer, the sun is at its highest point in the sky and this is the longest day of the year. A pinhole camera (no lens and a single small aperature) can be effectively used to document the change in elevation of the sun during the year.

The winter solstice marks the shortest day and longest night of the year. In the Northern Hemisphere, it occurs when the sun is directly over the Tropic of Capricorn, which is located at 23.5° south of the equator and runs through Australia, Chile, southern Brazil, and northern South Africa.

The eclipse on Oct. 2, 2024, will have an eclipse magnitude of 0.9326, according to EclipseWise.com. That means about 93% of the sun will be blocked by the moon during the eclipse, resulting in an "annulus" (Latin for "ring").

Winter is considered December, January and February; spring is March through May; summer is June through August; and fall or autumn is September through November.

Solstices happen twice a year—in June and December. The June solstice happens around June 21, when the Sun is directly overhead the Tropic of Cancer.

For the Northern Hemisphere, the axis points most toward the sun in June (specifically around June 21), and away from the sun around December 21. This corresponds to the Winter and Summer Solstice (solstice is Latin for "the sun stands").

The key reason that June 21 is only mildly hot in the Northern Hemisphere is because the Earth's climate has "momentum". It takes some amount of time for the increased heating in Northern Hemisphere springtime to take effect.

National Daylight Appreciation Day each year on June 21st recognizes the summer solstice (the longest day of daylight in the northern hemisphere) and encourages people to celebrate the many benefits of the sun.