Summer and winter solstice

When preparing sun analysis in climatic models, the summer and winter solstice are often used in simulations. The reason is that these are the days in the year, which have either the longest, or the shortest day in terms of daylight.

The summer solstice is when the Earth’s poles reaches its maximal tilt towards the sun, which occurs during summer. In the Northern hemisphere, the summer solstice is between 20 and 22 June, and in the Southern hemisphere it is between 20 and 23 December. The summer solstice marks the longest day and the shortest night at a place.

The winter solstice is the opposite of the summer solstice, and occurs when the Earth’s poles reaches its maximal tilt away from the sun. In the Northern hemisphere, the winter solstice is between 21 and 23 December, and in the Southern hemisphere between 20 and 23 June. The winter solstice marks the shortest day and the longest night at a place.