- Next June solstice
- Monday, 21 June 2027 — UTC
- Counting down
- 232 days away
- Today
- Sunday, 1 November 2026 · ISO week 44 · day 305 of the year
Computed on every visit from the time-zone database and standard astronomical formulas, so these never go stale. The article below is unchanged.
A solstice is the moment Earth’s tilt leans most directly toward or away from the sun, giving one hemisphere its longest day of the year and the other its shortest. Around 20–21 June, the North Pole tips sunward at its maximum 23.4 degrees, while around 21–22 December the roles reverse.
The word comes from the Latin solstitium, meaning “sun standing still,” because the sun’s rising and setting points pause and reverse direction along the horizon. How extreme these daylight variations feel depends entirely on latitude, from a difference of only minutes at the equator to the polar night above the Arctic Circle.
This guide explains daylight length across different cities, why temperature extremes lag behind the solstice, how calendar leap days shift the exact date, and how traditions from Stonehenge to Yalda mark the event.
Sources: The Seasons, the Equinox, and the Solstices
Frequently asked questions
Related on itsdately: How Long Is a Day on Other Planets? · Why Are There 60 Seconds in a Minute? Blame Babylon · What Is an Equinox? The Two Days the Sun Crosses the Equator
Further reading: U.S. Naval Observatory Astronomical Applications
About Yasir Hafeez
Yasir Hafeez is the creator of itsdately a free, independent site for clear world time, calendars, and date tools.