Some interesting facts about the shortest day and longest night of the year

 

Did you know that today is the shortest day and longest night of the year in the Northern Hemisphere, including Pakistan?

The shortest day of the year is called Ras al-Jadi or winter solstice.

Last 6 months i.e. from June 22, the length of a day was decreasing in the Northern Hemisphere including Pakistan, but now the matter will be reversed i.e. the length of the day will gradually increase.

Ras al-Jadi is said to be the first day of the beginning of winter which started on the 21st of December in some countries and the 22nd of December in Pakistan.

The science behind Ras al-Jadi

This is when the Sun is most southerly and transiting through Capricorn.

The situation is reversed in the Southern Hemisphere where December 22 will be the longest day of the year.

In this region, there are countries like Argentina, New Zealand and South Africa where only 10% of the world's population lives.

Usually, the shortest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere is on December 21 or 22.

In which country the short day of the year falls on December 21 or December 22, help can be taken from various websites such as Time and Datacom.

Which places have the shortest days?

At this point, daylight at the North Pole is dramatically reduced, with almost 24 hours of darkness.

By comparison, those living in Singapore, 85 miles north of the equator, don't notice much of a difference, as the sunset is only 9 minutes shorter in December than in June.

That means there is a day of about 12 hours throughout the year.

In Paris, the day is 8 hours and 14 minutes long and the night is about 16 hours long

In Oslo, Norway, the sun rises at 9:18 a.m. and sets at 3:12 p.m., less than 6 hours.

In comparison, in Islamabad, the sun rises at 7:08 am and sets at 5:40 pm, i.e. in about 10 hours.

In the Nome region of the American state of Alaska, the sunlight is visible for 3 hours and 54 minutes, after which the 20-hour-long night begins.

Why does this happen?

Our earth revolves around the sun, so on the occasion of Ras al-Jadi, the sun is tilted towards the south pole and away from the northern hemisphere, so winter begins here.

Due to this, the length of the day decreases while in summer it is reversed.

In the Northern Hemisphere regions, the sunrise time will remain the same for the next three days, but the sunset time will change.