Here's when summer starts in 2025. What to know.
Is it summer yet? Not quite, but it's getting closer. The first official day of summertime is nearly upon us.
Here's what you need to know about when summer starts and what it means for Indiana.
June 20 marks the first official day of summer in 2025. That's on a Friday this year. It's also the date of the summer solstice.
The first day of summer changes annually, arriving on June 20, 21 or 22. That's because the earth's astronomical year is actually 365.25 days long, writes Space.com.
June 20 is going to be a long day — the longest, actually. Indiana will get roughly 15 hours of sunshine on June 20, 2025. The sun will rise at about 6:17 a.m. in Lafayette and set around 9:21 p.m., according to TimeandDate.com. From here on out, the days will only get shorter until the winter solstice in December.
The summer solstice, according to the National Weather Service, is when the earth's tilt toward the sun reaches its maximum noontime elevation. For everywhere north of the Tropic of Cancer, the sun is at its highest point in the sky, resulting in the longest day of the year.
Solstice is a combination of the Latin words sol, meaning "sun," and sistere, meaning "to stop," according to the Old Farmer's Almanac. It's derived from the Latin word solstitium. Or to put it in another way: solstice means "sun stands still."
In the northern hemisphere, summer begins near the end of June and lasts through July, August and most of September. On Sept. 22, the autumnal equinox marks the start of fall.
There are two solstices and two equinoxes every year, signaling the start of each new season. The summer solstice happens when the sun reaches its highest point in the sky and marks the longest day of the year. The winter solstice is when the sun hits its lowest point, resulting in the shortest day of the year.
Equinox, if you were wondering, means "equal night" in Latin, when nighttime and daytime are of equal lengths everywhere on the planet. Just like the solstice, there are two equinoxes — the vernal (first day of spring) and the autumnal (first day of fall).
March 20, 2025: first day of spring.
June 20, 2025: first day of summer.
Sept. 22, 2025: first day of fall.
Dec. 21, 2025: first day of winter.
John Tufts covers trending news for IndyStar and Midwest Connect. Send him a news tip at JTufts@Gannett.com. Find him on BlueSky at JohnWritesStuff.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: The first day of summer is the longest day of the year. What to know
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