MANILA, Philippines — Get ready for the longest day and shortest night of the year.
June 21 marks the highly anticipated June Solstice, also known as the “summer solstice”in the Philippines.
Mario Raymundo, chief of the state weather bureau’s Astronomical Observation and Time Service Unit, said Metro Manila alone will experience a 13-hour daytime on Wednesday, with the sun expected to rise and set at 5:28 a.m. and 6:28 p.m. respectively.
“[Ito ay] rising lang sa Metro Manila. Sa iba’t-ibang lugar iba ang rising n’yan. The more na pumapanhik ka sa norte, let’s say [sa] Baguio o Batanes, mas mahaba ang [duration] ng [daytime] nila kesa sa atin,” Raymundo told INQUIRER.net.
(This is just for Metro Manila. The rising is different in different places. The more you head north, let’s say to Baguio or Batanes, the duration of their daytime is longer than ours.)
The astrological phenomenon occurs when the sun reaches its “most northerly point” in the sky, according to Pagasa’s astronomical diary. In 2023, it will occur on Wednesday at 10:58 p.m.
“During the June Solstice, the northern hemisphere will experience the longest day and will mark the first day of summer,” said Pagasa.
Apart from signaling the onset of summer in the northern hemisphere, this event subsequently marks the first day of winter in the southern hemisphere too according to Pagasa.