Winter Solstice 2022: Timing, significance and all you need to know about shortest day of year

The world is celebrating the shortest day of the year, termed ‘winter solstice’, today, 22 December. The event officially announces the beginning of the winter season in the Northern Hemisphere, while the Southern Hemisphere experiences summer during this time. The Latin word ‘solstitium’, which roughly translates to ‘sun standing still’, is the origin of the English word ‘solstice’. Notably, the South Pole observes the winter solstice on 21 June which marks the start of winter there.

What is winter solstice?

During this phenomenon, the Tropic of Capricorn receives overhead sunlight putting countries in the Northern Hemisphere the furthest away from it. Every year, around 22 December, the South Pole gets inclined toward the sun which increases its exposure to sunlight. Thus, for those residing in the Southern Hemisphere, the day starts to get longer and the night turns shorter with each passing day. The opposite occurs to the people living in the Northern Hemisphere. This year, the winter solstice sunrise was at 7:10 AM IST and the sunset will be at 5:29 PM IST.

Darkest Period in the North Pole

The Arctic and Antarctic circles are situated at 66.5 degrees north and 66.5 degrees south. The line over which the Sun never rises on the December solstice is actually the latitude of the Arctic circle. So, it leads to 24 hours of darkness there. If we move closer to the north pole, we actually head toward the point where the Earth has tilted the farthest away from the Sun. Thus, the period from mid-November to late January is also the darkest time of the year for the North Pole.

The shortest day getting longer each century

The Earth rotates around the Sun on an axis of 23.5 degrees. Due to its inclination, the Earth’s hemispheres receive varying amounts of sunlight throughout the year. According to researchers, the shortest day of the year is growing longer by a few seconds per century. It is due to two factors- modifications to the Moon’s orbit and the Earth’s axis tilt. As revealed by astronomer Graham Jones, the Earth’s tilt is gradually reducing as part of a repeating cycle that lasts about 40,000 years.

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