Longest day of the year on June 21

Manila, Philippines -  The Philippines, along with other countries in the northern hemisphere, will experience the longest day of the year on June 21 during the annual summer solstice, the weather bureau said.

“Philippine nights are at their shortest and daytimes are at their longest around the summer solstice, which falls on June 21 at 7:09 a.m. (Philippine Standard Time),” the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said.

“This is the time when the sun attains its greatest declination of +23.5 degrees and passes directly overhead at noon for all observers at latitude 23.5 degrees North, which is known as the Tropic of Cancer.

This event marks the start of the apparent southward movement of the sun in the ecliptic,” it said.

A solstice is an astronomical event that occurs twice each year, when the tilt of the earth’s axis is most inclined toward or away from the sun, causing the sun’s apparent position in the sky to reach its northernmost or southernmost extreme.

The name is derived from the Latin word “sol” (sun) and “sistere” (to stand still), because at the solstices, the sun stands still in declination; that is, the apparent movement of the sun’s path north or south comes to a stop before reversing direction.

June 21 is called the summer solstice in the northern hemisphere and simultaneously the winter solstice in the southern hemisphere.

The northern hemisphere receives more direct rays of the sun than the opposite hemisphere where it is winter.

In winter, the sun’s energy hits the earth at oblique angles and is thus less concentrated.

Meanwhile, PAGASA said Northern and Central Luzon will continue to experience mostly cloudy skies with scattered rainshowers and thunderstorms this weekend due to a monsoon trough.

The rest of the country will have partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rainshowers or thunderstorms, it said.

PAGASA said the coastal waters throughout the archipelago will be moderate to rough.