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Summer Begins in Northern Hemisphere

The headshot image of Monika Luabeya

Monika Luabeya

Jun 20, 2025
Image Article
This full-disk image from NOAA’s GOES-13 satellite shows North and South America on the summer solstice on June 21, 2012. The land is green and brown, while Earth's waters appear deep blue. Clouds swirl all over Earth.
This full-disk image from NOAA’s GOES-13 satellite shows the Americas at the start of astronomical summer in the Northern Hemisphere on June 21, 2012.
NASA

This full-disk image from NOAA’s GOES-13 satellite was captured at 7:45 a.m. EDT (11:45 UTC) and shows the Americas on June 21, 2012, the start of astronomical summer – in the Northern Hemisphere – that year.

The first day of summer in 2025 is June 20; it is also the longest day of the year. In the Southern Hemisphere, it’s the shortest day of the year and the beginning of winter.

Earth orbits at an angle, so the Northern Hemisphere is tilted toward the Sun half of the year — this is summer in the Northern Hemisphere, and winter in the Southern Hemisphere. The other half of the year, the Northern Hemisphere is tilted away from the Sun, creating winter in the north and summer in the south. Solstices happen twice per year, at the points in Earth’s orbit where this tilt is most pronounced.

Image credit: NASA