Summer orsummertime is thehottest and brightest of the fourtemperateseasons, occurring afterspring and beforeautumn. At or centred on thesummer solstice, daylight hours are the longest and darkness hours are the shortest, withday length decreasing as the season progresses after the solstice. The earliest sunrises and latest sunsets also occur near the date of the solstice. The date of the beginning of summer varies according to definition,climate, tradition, and culture. When it is summer in theNorthern Hemisphere, it iswinter in theSouthern Hemisphere, and vice versa.
Themeteorological convention defines summer as comprising the months of June, July, and August in the northern hemisphere and the months of December, January, and February in the southern hemisphere.[2][3] Under meteorological definitions, all seasons are arbitrarily set to start at the beginning of a calendar month and end at the end of a month.[2] This meteorological definition of summer also aligns with the commonly viewed notion of summer as the season with the longest (and warmest) days of the year, in which daylight predominates.
Days continue to lengthen from equinox to solstice and summer days progressively shorten after the solstice, so meteorological summer encompasses the build-up to the longest day and a diminishing thereafter, with summer having many more hours of daylight than spring. Reckoning by hours of daylight alone, summersolstice marks the midpoint, not the beginning, of the seasons.Midsummer takes place over the shortest night of the year, which is the summer solstice, or on a nearby date that varies with tradition.
A variableseasonal lag means that the meteorological midpoint of the season, which is based on average temperature patterns, occurs several weeks after the time of maximal insolation.[4]
Cultural reckoning
In theJulian calendar used in theancient Roman world, summer began on 9 May, its midpoint was the summer solstice on 24 June, and summer ended on 10 August.[5]
Likewise, inAnglo-Saxon England, summer began on 9 May and its midpoint was the summer solstice orMidsummer, on 24 June.[6] In England, 24 June continued to be called Midsummer Day and was one of thequarter days of the English calendar. Elsewhere in northern Europe, midsummer and the solstice were traditionally reckoned as the night of 23–24 June.[7]
Traditionally, in much of Europe, summer began withMay Day, and the time around the summer solstice was seen as the middle of summer.[8]InGaelic Ireland and Scotland, summer began with the festival ofBealtaine on 1 May and ended withLughnasa on 1 August.[9][10] Likewise, inWales, summer began with the festival ofCyntefin orCalan Haf (meaning "first of Summer") on 1 May.[11]
Reckoning by cultural festivals, the summer season in theUnited States is traditionally regarded as beginning onMemorial Day weekend (the last weekend in May) and ending onLabor Day (the first Monday in September), more closely in line with the meteorological definition for the parts of the country that have four-season weather. The similarCanadian tradition starts summer onVictoria Day one week prior (although summer conditions vary widely across Canada's expansive territory) and ends, as in the United States, onLabour Day.
InAustralia andNew Zealand, summer begins on 1 December and ends on 28 February (29 February in leap years).
InChinese astronomy, summer starts on or around 5 May, with thejiéqì (solar term) known aslìxià (立夏), i.e. "establishment of summer".[12][13] Summer ends around 7 August, with the solar term oflìqiū (立秋, "establishment of autumn").
In southern and southeast Asia, where themonsoon occurs, summer is more generally defined as lasting from March, April, May and June, the warmest time of the year, ending with the onset of the monsoonrains.[citation needed]
Because the temperature lag is shorter in the oceanic temperate southern hemisphere,[14] most countries in this region use the meteorological definition with summer starting on 1 December and ending on the last day of February.[15][16]
Astronomical reckoning
From anastronomical view, theequinoxes and solstices would be the middle of the respective seasons,[17][18] but sometimes astronomical summer is defined as starting at the solstice, often identified with 21 June or 21 December. By solar reckoning, summer instead starts on around 5 May, ends around 7 August and the summer solstice isMidsummer. Where aseasonal lag of half a season or more is common, reckoning based on astronomical markers is shifted half a season.[19] By this method, in North America, summer is the period from thesummer solstice (usually 20 or 21 June in the Northern Hemisphere) to theautumn equinox.[20][21][22]
Summer is traditionally associated with hot or warm weather. InMediterranean climates, it is also associated with dry weather, while in other places (particularly inEastern Asia because of the monsoon) it is associated with rainy weather. The wet season is the main period of vegetation growth within thesavanna climate regime.[23] Where the wet season is associated with a seasonal shift in theprevailing winds, it is known as a monsoon.[24]
In the northern Atlantic Ocean, a distinct tropical cyclone season occurs from 1 June to 30 November.[25] The statistical peak of theAtlantic hurricane season is 10 September. The Northeast Pacific Ocean has a broader period of activity, but in a similar timeframe to the Atlantic.[26] The Northwest Pacific sees tropical cyclones year-round, with a minimum in February and March and a peak in early September. In the North Indian basin, storms are most common from April to December, with peaks in May and November.[25] In theSouthern Hemisphere, the tropical cyclone season runs from the start of November until the end of April with peaks in mid-February to early March.[25][27]
Thunderstorm season in the United States and Canada runs in thespring through summer but sometimes can run as late as October or even November in thefall. These storms can producehail, strong winds andtornadoes, usually during the afternoon and evening.
Holidays
School breaks
Schools and universities typically have a summer break to take advantage of the warmer weather and longer days. In almost all countries, children are out of school during this time of year forsummer break, although dates vary. Many families will take holidays for a week or two over the summer, particularly inSouthern Hemisphere Western countries with statutoryChristmas andNew Year holidays.
In the United States, public schools usually end in late May inMemorial Day weekend, while colleges finish in early May. Schools often resume in mid-August. Note thatschool start and end dates vary significantly across the US.[citation needed]
InEngland andWales, school ends in mid-July and resumes again in early September. InScotland, the summer holiday begins in late June and ends in mid-to-late August. Similarly, inCanada the summer holiday starts on the last or second-last Friday in June and ends in late August or on the first Tuesday of September, with the exception of when that date falls beforeLabour Day, in which case, ends on the second Tuesday of the month. InRussia, the summer holiday begins at the end of May and ends on 31 August.[citation needed]
In the Southern Hemisphere, school summer holiday dates include the major holidays ofChristmas andNew Year's Day. School summer holidays in Australia, New Zealand andSouth Africa begin in early December and end in early February, with dates varying between states. In South Africa, the new school year usually starts during the second week of January, thus aligning theacademic year with theCalendar year. InIndia, school ends in late April and resumes in early or mid-June. InCameroon andNigeria, schools usually start a summer vacation in mid-July and resume in the later weeks of September or the first week of October.[citation needed]
Public holidays
A wide range of public holidays fall during summer, including:
Summer is usually the season of travel, swimming, summer vacation for many people, and also the season for fruits and plants to fully develop.Hotels and tourists along theAtlantic Ocean shoreline inMyrtle Beach, South Carolina in summer
In the United States, many television shows made for children are released during the summer, as children are off school.
Conversely, the music and film industries generally experience higher returns during the summer than other times of the year and market their summer hits accordingly. Summer is popular foranimated movies to be released theatrically inmovie theaters.[citation needed]
With many schools closed, especially in Western countries, travel and vacationing tend to peak during the summer. Teenagers and university students often takesummer jobs, and business activity for the recreation, tourism, restaurant, and retail industries reach their peak.
^Forsythe, Gary (2012).Time in Roman Religion: One Thousand Years of Religious History. Routledge. pp. 123, 182.Varro places the equinoxes and solstices at the midpoints of the seasons ... His dating for the beginnings of the four seasons are as follows: February 7 for spring, May 9 for summer, August 11 for autumn, and November 10 for winter.
^Karasawa, Kazutomo (2015).The Old English Metrical Calendar (Menologium). Anglo-Saxon Texts. Vol. 12. Cambridge:Boydell & Brewer. pp. 36–37, 103.ISBN978-1-84384-409-9.
^Frazer, James George (1919). "The Fire-Festivals of Europe".The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion (Third ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 223–224.
^Hutton, Ronald.The Stations of the Sun: A History of the Ritual Year in Britain. Oxford University Press, 1996. pp. 218–225
^Koch, John T.Celtic Culture: A Historical Encyclopedia. 2006. p. 202
^Edwards, Nancy (2023).Life in Early Medieval Wales. Oxford University Press. p. 54.
^Stepanchuk, Carol (1991).Mooncakes and Hungry Ghosts: Festivals of China. San Francisco: China Books & Periodicals.ISBN0-8351-2481-9.
^菇溪風情 (in Chinese). 寧波出版社. 1 January 2019. pp. 9, 21.ISBN978-7-5526-3347-4.Archived from the original on 5 April 2023. Retrieved31 March 2023.
^Gabler, Robert E.; Petersen, James F.; Trapasso, L. Michael; Sack, Dorothy (2008).Physical Geography. Belmont, California: Cengage Learning. p. 107.ISBN0495555061.
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