Tomorrow brings shortest day of year with barely 11hrs daylight
The shortest day of the year, known as winter solstice, will fall on Thursday (December 22), the National Astronomical Research Institute of Thailand (Narit) said on Wednesday.
The winter solstice occurs when either of the Earth's poles reaches its maximum tilt away from the sun. This happens twice a year, once in the northern and once in the southern hemisphere.
Winter solstice sees the sun reach its lowest annual elevation in the sky.
On Thursday, the sun will rise at 6.36am and set at 5.55pm, adding up to just 11 hours and 19 minutes of daylight.
“Winter solstice is regarded as the first day of winter in the northern hemisphere, but for those in the southern hemisphere it will be the first day of summer,” Narit pointed out.
After tomorrow, the days will gradually get longer leading to the spring equinox on March 20, when the period of day and night will be the same. The summer solstice will bring the longest day for Thailand and the rest of the northern hemisphere on June 21.
