LAHORE (Dunya News) – Pakistan will witness the shortest day and longest night of the year on Sunday (today).
In Lahore and its suburbs, the duration of the day will be approximately 10 hours and 10 minutes and the duration of the night will be 13 hours and 50 minutes, while in other cities there may be a difference of a few minutes.
In the Northern Hemisphere, including Pakistan, December 21 is the shortest day, and the night is longer than other nights of the year.
How to mark Winter Solstice's shortest day, longest night
The Winter Solstice is an astronomical phenomenon marking the shortest day and the longest night of the year.
It occurs when one of the earth's poles has its maximum slant away from the sun and it happens twice in each hemisphere at the peak of winter and summer.
The solstices, the seasons and the changing length of daylight hours throughout the year are all due to one fact: the earth spins on a tilted axis.
The sun makes a sine wave across the sky over the course of the year, sometimes farther south or farther north. When the sun is 23.5° south in latitude and directly over the Tropic of Capricorn, which occurs on and around December 21st, the Winter Solstice takes place.
At its farthest southerly point, having moved slowly since last June, the sun "stops" for approximately three days before it starts to slowly creep back north again.
During this time, there is a peak moment of the Solstice. In 2025, this will occur on Sunday December 21st.