The online news portal of TV5 MANILA - Did you feel like today
was the longest day? Maybe because it is. The summer solstice,
where the night is shortest and the day longest, is today,
Thursday, June 21, according to the Philippine Atmospheric
Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa).
Pagasa said the summer solstice occurs when the sun achieves its
"greatest declination of +23.5 degrees and passes directly
overhead at noon." This simply means that the North Pole is
tipped more toward the sun and as the days lengthen, the sun
rises higher and higher in the sky until it seems to be at a
standstill. The summer solstice signals the start of the summer
season for some parts of the world, including Western countries.
In the Philippines, the summer solstice occurred at 7:09 a.m.,
according to Pagasa. According to the state weather bureau,
sunrise today occurred at 5:28 a.m. and the sun will set at 6:28
p.m. According to National Geographic, although the summer
solstice marks the start of summer,