Summer Solstice 2026: What is it and why is it the longest day of the year?

Our planet does not rotate on a perfectly vertical axis – it is tilted.

This tilt causes the amount of sunlight that reaches different regions of the Earth to change throughout the year as it orbits the Sun.

For half a year, the northern half of the Earth is tilted toward the Sun.

During the summer solstice, the Northern Hemisphere is tilted directly toward the Sun and the Sun is directly visible at the Tropic of Cancer.

Without this tilt, we experience weather but not distinct seasons because the amount of daylight can be constant throughout the year.

The word solstice comes from the Latin words sol (sun) and sis (to stand still), referring to the pause in the movement of the sun across the sky.

Although it is the longest day of the year, the summer solstice does not have the latest sunset or the earliest sunrise.

The earliest sunrises occur before the summer solstice and the latest sunsets occur after.

You can check the sunrise and sunset times at your location. BBC Weather App And website.