Meteorological summer begins on June 1st. What does that mean?

Wwhile the Summer Solstice If it is not before June 20th, many scientists consider the start of summer to be much earlier. This is because June 1st marks the beginning of meteorological summer.

There are two types of seasons: meteorological and astronomical. Weather and astronomical seasons have different start and end dates because weather seasons are based on the annual temperature cycle, while astronomical seasons depend on the Earth’s position relative to the sun, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). . National Environmental Information Centers (NCIE).

“Meteorologists and climatologists divide seasons into groups of three months based on the annual temperature cycle, as well as our calendar,” the NCEI stated on its website. “We generally think of winter as the coldest time of the year and summer as the hottest time of the year, with spring and autumn being the transition seasons, and that’s what the weather seasons are based on.”

In the Northern Hemisphere, meteorological spring runs from March to May, summer from June to August, autumn from September to November and winter from December to February.

However, the astronomical seasons – which many people consider “regular” seasons – are defined by two solstices and two equinoxes, determined by the tilt of the Earth and the alignment of the Sun on the equator.

In the Northern Hemisphere, the summer solstice usually falls around June 21, the winter solstice around December 22, the spring equinox around March 21, and the autumnal equinox around September 22. same dates.

The dates of the solstices and equinoxes can vary depending on the year because the Earth revolves around the Sun in 365.24 days, leading to a leap year – an extra day every four years. As the Earth’s orbit around the Sun is elliptical in shape, the duration of the astronomical seasons can also vary from 89 to 93 days.

“These variations in season length and start date would make it very difficult to consistently compare climatological statistics for a specific season from one year to the next,” the NCEI said on its website. “This is how weather stations were born.”