The spring season is here. Tuesday, March 19, marks the vernal equinox, the first day of spring in the Northern Hemisphere. CBS News said the spring will officially begin at 11.06 pm EDT on Tuesday (8.36 am IST on Wednesday). With the start of the season, daylight hours will continue increasing and will peak with the summer solstice in June. The spring season will also witness a solar eclipse on April 8, with the path of totality passing over parts of Mexico and the US.
What is vernal equinox?
According to Encyclopaedia Britannica, the vernal equinox, which falls in March, is a time when the Sun is exactly above the equator and day and night are of equal length. The Sun will now move from south to north.
The word equinox is derived from Latin words aequus and nox, or equal night.
The Farmer's Almanac mentions that spring equinox can fall on March 19, 21 or 21 but the last one is extremely rare. It said that there hasn't been one in the mainland US for the entirety of the 21st century and there won't be one until 2101.
When does spring start in the Southern Hemisphere?
It starts in the month of September, when fall begins in Northern Hemisphere.
While the March equinox brings later sunrises, earlier sunsets, chillier winds and dry, falling leaves in the Southern Hemisphere, while the reverse happens in the Northern Hemisphere.
In the Southern Hemisphere, March 19 will mark the start of the fall season.
When is the summer solstice in 2024?
The summer solstice, or the day with the longest daylight hours of the year, will happen on June 20, 2024. It marks the start of the summer season in the Northern Hemisphere and the winter season in the Southern Hemisphere.
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