The summer solstice is the moment when a hemisphere receives its maximum daylight and is widely celebrated in many cultures as a time of renewal and festivity.
What the solstice is
The solstice occurs when the Sun reaches its highest point in the sky at local noon for a given hemisphere, producing the greatest number of daylight hours that year.
When it happens
In the Northern Hemisphere the summer solstice typically falls around 20 or 21 June, and in the Southern Hemisphere it occurs around 21 or 22 December, with the exact date varying slightly because of the calendar and Earth’s orbit.
Why days are longer
Earth’s axial tilt means one hemisphere leans toward the Sun at midsummer, so the Sun follows its longest, highest path across the sky and rises earlier and sets later than at other times of year.
Cultural importance
Across history and around the world communities have marked the solstice with rituals, bonfires, pilgrimages and celebrations that symbolise renewal, fertility and the peak of the growing season.
Takeaway
The summer solstice is both an astronomical milestone — the longest day of the year for the hemisphere tilted toward the Sun — and a culturally significant event celebrated in many traditions.