Winter Solstice: Dec 22

Winter Solstice: Dec 22

Part of: GS Prelims

In News

• December 22, is Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere
• It is the day when the North Pole is most tilted away from the Sun.
• In the Southern Hemisphere, conversely, today is Summer Solstice — in places like Australia, New Zealand, or South Africa, December 22 is the year’s longest day.
• This situation will be reversed six months after— on June 21/22, the Northern Hemisphere will see the Summer Solstice when the day will be the year’s longest.
• The Earth’s axis of rotation is tilted at an angle of 23.5 degrees away from the perpendicular. 
• This tilt — combined with factors such as Earth’s spin and orbit — leads to variations in the duration of Sunlight that any location on the planet receives on different days of the year.