Mashable: The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is set to experience its longest day since the year 1796.

According to the Gulf News, June 20, 2024, will be the longest day of the year with daylight hours spanning 13 hours and 48 minutes. This will be due to an earlier summer solstice this year.

UAE to experience earliest Summer Solstice with longest day: 13 Hours, 48 Minutes on June 20-22#WamNews https://t.co/mmdYcpN4WK pic.twitter.com/263gc23RYh — WAM English (@WAMNEWS_ENG) June 8, 2024

This notable event will occur at 12:51 am Gulf Standard Time (GST) on June 20, 2024, and represents the earliest solstice observed since the year 1796 across most countries around the world.

As per the Emirates News Agency, WAM, similar fluctuations in solstice timing can be anticipated in forthcoming leap years.

What is a solstice?

A solstice is when the sun reaches its utmost northerly or southerly point relative to the celestial equator on the celestial sphere. It holds significant astronomical importance.

The summer solstice signifies the day with the lengthiest period of daylight and the shortest night in one hemisphere, be it Northern or Southern. This phenomenon sees the sun attain its highest elevation in the sky, which results in continuous daylight at the pole within the respective hemisphere. Whereas, the winter solstice represents the shortest day and longest night of the year.

UAE’s Summer Solstice

Ibrahim Al Jarwan, Board Chairman of the Emirates Astronomical Society and member of the Arab Union for Space and Astronomy Sciences, as per WAM explained that during the summer solstice, the sun is directly overhead at the Tropic of Cancer, which is its northernmost point.

The southern regions of the Emirates which fall directly below the sun will see no shadow at noon. Shadows at noontime will also reportedly be shorter across the Arabian Peninsula. It will also see the shortest shadow occurring in the whole Northern Hemisphere.

Al Jarwan revealed that temperatures during the day are expected to be 41 and 43 degrees Celsius, whereas they will be 26 and 29 degrees Celsius at night. It will generally be dry with active winds.

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