The flip-flopped seasons | Hey Ray
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - The Winter solstice means the official start of Winter is here, and we are getting into the coldest part of the year. It is also when we have the shortest amount of daylight.
You know this already, but the winter solstice is the time when the Sun reaches the lowest angle in the sky. It is not winter everywhere though!
It is the warmest time of the year in the southern hemisphere. In the northern hemisphere, where we live, the Sun's angle is low in the sky because our half of Earth is tilted on an axis away from the Sun. The southern hemisphere, on the other hand, is then tilted toward the Sun. This warms the southern hemisphere and gives them longer periods of daylight.
In the southern hemisphere, not only is it summer-like, it is also officially summertime when we are experiencing our winter. When it is our summer, they consider and call it winter! If you like warmer weather, these opposite solstices give us some bonus days in the northern hemisphere.
Winter is our shortest season. Outside of leap years, it only lasts 89 days. That means summer in the southern hemisphere is 89 days, too. Summer is our longest season - 94 days long. In the southern hemisphere, that means winter is their longest season!
If that weren't enough, what we call "spring", they call "fall"!
Just like opposite day, but opposite seasons.