top
What is the summer solstice and why is it the longest day of the year?
Key takeaways
- PAImage caption, The sun rises over Cullercoats Bay, North Tyneside, on the summer solstice 2025
- The summer solstice will be celebrated across the northern hemisphere this week, marking the official start of astronomical summer.
- This year, it falls on Sunday 21 June and while we generally think of it as the whole day, it actually happens at a single moment when the hemisphere is tilted at its maximum towards the Sun.
Why this matters: a developing story that could shape the day's news cycle.
PAImage caption, The sun rises over Cullercoats Bay, North Tyneside, on the summer solstice 2025
The summer solstice will be celebrated across the northern hemisphere this week, marking the official start of astronomical summer.
This year, it falls on Sunday 21 June and while we generally think of it as the whole day, it actually happens at a single moment when the hemisphere is tilted at its maximum towards the Sun.
Article preview — originally published by BBC News. Full story at the source.
Read full story on BBC News →
More top stories
Also covered by
Aggregated and edited by the Scoop newsroom. We surface news from BBC News alongside other reporting so you can compare coverage in one place.
Editorial policy · Corrections · About Scoop