Summer is the
hottest of the four
temperate seasons, occurring after
spring and before
autumn
Autumn, also known as fall in American English and Canadian English, is one of the four temperate seasons on Earth. Outside the tropics, autumn marks the transition from summer to winter, in September ( Northern Hemisphere) or March ( Sou ...
. At or centred on the
summer solstice
The summer solstice, also called the estival solstice or midsummer, occurs when one of Earth's poles has its maximum tilt toward the Sun. It happens twice yearly, once in each hemisphere ( Northern and Southern). For that hemisphere, the summer ...
, the earliest sunrise and latest sunset occurs, daylight hours are longest and dark hours are shortest, with
day length decreasing as the season progresses after the solstice. The date of the beginning of summer varies according to
climate, tradition, and culture. When it is summer in the
Northern Hemisphere
The Northern Hemisphere is the half of Earth that is north of the Equator. For other planets in the Solar System, north is defined as being in the same celestial hemisphere relative to the invariable plane of the solar system as Earth's Nort ...
, it is
winter in the
Southern Hemisphere, and vice versa.
Timing
From an astronomical view, the
equinoxes and solstices would be the middle of the respective seasons, but sometimes astronomical summer is defined as starting at the solstice, the time of maximal
insolation
Solar irradiance is the power per unit area (surface power density) received from the Sun in the form of electromagnetic radiation in the wavelength range of the measuring instrument.
Solar irradiance is measured in watts per square metre (W/m ...
, often identified with the 21st day of June or December. By solar reckoning, summer instead starts on
May Day and the summer solstice is
Midsummer. A variable
seasonal lag means that the
meteorological
Meteorology is a branch of the atmospheric sciences (which include atmospheric chemistry and physics) with a major focus on weather forecasting. The study of meteorology dates back millennia, though significant progress in meteorology did not ...
centre of the season, which is based on average temperature patterns, occurs several weeks after the time of maximal insolation.
The meteorological convention is to define 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.
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.
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.
The meteorological reckoning of seasons is used in countries including
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
,
New Zealand,
Austria,
Denmark,
Russia and
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
. It is also used by many people in the
United Kingdom and
Canada. In
Ireland, the summer months according to the national meteorological service,
Met Éireann, are June, July and August. By the
Irish calendar, summer begins on 1 May (
Beltane) and ends on 31 July (
Lughnasadh).
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, summer
solstice 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.
Where a
seasonal lag of half a season or more is common, reckoning based on astronomical markers is shifted half a season. By this method, in North America, summer is the period from the
summer solstice
The summer solstice, also called the estival solstice or midsummer, occurs when one of Earth's poles has its maximum tilt toward the Sun. It happens twice yearly, once in each hemisphere ( Northern and Southern). For that hemisphere, the summer ...
(usually 20 or 21 June in the Northern Hemisphere) to the
autumn equinox.
Reckoning by cultural festivals, the summer season in the
United States is traditionally regarded as beginning on
Memorial Day weekend (the last weekend in May) and ending on
Labor Day
Labor Day is a federal holiday in the United States celebrated on the first Monday in September to honor and recognize the American labor movement and the works and contributions of laborers to the development and achievements of the United St ...
(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 similar
Canadian tradition starts summer on
Victoria Day one week prior (although summer conditions vary widely across Canada's expansive territory) and ends, as in the United States, on
Labour Day
Labour Day ('' Labor Day'' in the United States) is an annual holiday to celebrate the achievements of workers. Labour Day has its origins in the labour union movement, specifically the eight-hour day movement, which advocated eight hours for ...
.
In some Southern Hemisphere countries such as
Brazil,
Argentina,
South Africa,
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
and
New Zealand, summer is associated with the
Christmas and
New Year holidays. Many families take extended holidays for two or three weeks or longer during summer.
In
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
and
New Zealand, summer begins on 1 December and ends on 28 February (29 February in leap years).
In
Chinese astronomy, summer starts on or around 5 May, with the ''
jiéqì'' (
solar term) known as
lìxià (立夏), i.e. "establishment of summer", and it ends on or around 6 August.
In southern and southeast Asia, where the
monsoon 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 monsoon
rains.
Because the temperature lag is shorter in the oceanic temperate southern hemisphere, most countries in this region use the meteorological definition with summer starting on 1 December and ending on the last day of February.
Weather
Summer is traditionally associated with hot or warm weather. In
Mediterranean climates, it is also associated with dry weather, while in other places (particularly in
Eastern Asia
East Asia is the eastern region of Asia, which is defined in both Geography, geographical and culture, ethno-cultural terms. The modern State (polity), states of East Asia include China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan. ...
because of the monsoon) it is associated with rainy weather. The wet season is the main period of vegetation growth within the
savanna climate
A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the Canopy (forest), canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to rea ...
regime. Where the wet season is associated with a seasonal shift in the
prevailing winds, it is known as a monsoon.
In the northern Atlantic Ocean, a distinct tropical cyclone season occurs from 1 June to 30 November.
The statistical peak of the
Atlantic hurricane season
The Atlantic hurricane season is the period in a year from June through November when tropical cyclones form in the Atlantic Ocean, referred to in North American countries as hurricanes, tropical storms, or tropical depressions. In addition ...
is 10 September. The Northeast Pacific Ocean has a broader period of activity, but in a similar timeframe to the Atlantic.
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.
In the
Southern Hemisphere, the tropical cyclone season runs from the start of November until the end of April with peaks in mid-February to early March.
Thunderstorm season in the United States and Canada runs in the
spring through summer but sometimes can run as late as October or even November in the
fall. These storms can produce
hail
Hail is a form of solid precipitation. It is distinct from ice pellets (American English "sleet"), though the two are often confused. It consists of balls or irregular lumps of ice, each of which is called a hailstone. Ice pellets generally fal ...
, strong winds and
tornadoes, 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 for
summer break, although dates vary. Many families will take holidays for a week or two over summer, particularly in
Southern Hemisphere Western countries with statutory
Christmas and
New Year holidays.
In the United States, public schools usually end in late May in
Memorial Day weekend, while colleges finish in early May. Public school traditionally resumes near Labor Day, while higher institutions often resume in mid-August.
In
England and
Wales, school ends in mid-July and resumes again in early September. In
Scotland, the summer holiday begins in late June and ends in mid-to late-August. Similarly, in
Canada 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 before
Labour Day
Labour Day ('' Labor Day'' in the United States) is an annual holiday to celebrate the achievements of workers. Labour Day has its origins in the labour union movement, specifically the eight-hour day movement, which advocated eight hours for ...
, in which case, ends on the second Tuesday of the month. In
Russia the summer holiday begins at the end of May and ends on 31 August.
In the Southern Hemisphere, school summer holiday dates include the major holidays of
Christmas and
New Year's Day
New Year's Day is a festival observed in most of the world on 1 January, the first day of the year in the modern Gregorian calendar. 1 January is also New Year's Day on the Julian calendar, but this is not the same day as the Gregorian one. Wh ...
. School summer holidays in Australia, New Zealand and
South 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 the
academic year
An academic year or school year is a period of time which schools, colleges and universities use to measure a quantity of study.
School holiday
School holidays (also referred to as vacations, breaks, and recess) are the periods during which sch ...
with the
Calendar year
Generally speaking, a calendar year begins on the New Year's Day of the given calendar system and ends on the day before the following New Year's Day, and thus consists of a whole number of days. A year can also be measured by starting on any o ...
. In
India, school ends in late April and resumes in early or mid-June. In
Cameroon and
Nigeria, schools usually finish for summer vacation in mid-July and resume in the later weeks of September or the first week of October.
Public holidays
A wide range of public holidays fall during summer, including:
* Northern Hemisphere
**
Bank holiday
A bank holiday is a national public holiday in the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland and the Crown Dependencies. The term refers to all public holidays in the United Kingdom, be they set out in statute, declared by royal proclamation or held ...
s in the United Kingdom and Ireland
**
Bastille Day, National Day of France (14 July)
**
Belgian National Day (21 July)
**
Canada Day
Canada Day (french: Fête du Canada), formerly known as Dominion Day (french: Fête du Dominion), is the national day of Canada. A federal statutory holiday, it celebrates the anniversary of Canadian Confederation which occurred on July 1, 18 ...
(1 July)
**
Festa della Repubblica, Italian
national day and
republic day (2 June)
** Independence Day (Jordan) (25 May)
**
Independence Day (Pakistan) (14 August)
**
Independence Day (India) (15 August)
**
Independence Day (United States) (4 July)
**
Juneteenth (United States) (19 June)
**
Memorial Day (United States) or
Victoria Day (Canada) through
Labor Day
Labor Day is a federal holiday in the United States celebrated on the first Monday in September to honor and recognize the American labor movement and the works and contributions of laborers to the development and achievements of the United St ...
**
National Day of Sweden (6 June) and
Midsummer, sometimes referred to as the "alternative National Day"
**
Ólavsøka,
Faroe Islands (29 July)
**
Swiss National Day
The Swiss National Day (german: Schweizer Bundesfeiertag; french: Fête nationale suisse; it, Festa nazionale svizzera; Romansh: Festa naziunala svizra) is the national holiday of Switzerland, set on 1 August. Although the founding of the Swis ...
(1 August)
**
Victory Day (Turkey) (30 August)
* Southern Hemisphere
**
Australia Day (26 January)
**
Christmas Day (25 December) and
Boxing Day
Boxing Day is a holiday celebrated after Christmas Day, occurring on the second day of Christmastide (26 December). Though it originated as a holiday to give gifts to the poor, today Boxing Day is primarily known as a shopping holiday. It ...
(26 December) in many countries
**
New Year's Day
New Year's Day is a festival observed in most of the world on 1 January, the first day of the year in the modern Gregorian calendar. 1 January is also New Year's Day on the Julian calendar, but this is not the same day as the Gregorian one. Wh ...
(1 January) and the following day (2 January) in many countries
**
Waitangi Day (6 February) In New Zealand
Activities
People generally take advantage of the high temperatures by spending more time outdoors during summer. Activities such as travelling to the
beach and
picnic
A picnic is a meal taken outdoors ( ''al fresco'') as part of an excursion, especially in scenic surroundings, such as a park, lakeside, or other place affording an interesting view, or else in conjunction with a public event such as preceding ...
s occur during the summer months. Sports including
cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...
,
association football (soccer),
horse racing
Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic p ...
,
basketball,
American football,
volleyball,
skateboarding
Skateboarding is an extreme sport, action sport originating in the United States that involves riding and performing tricks using a skateboard, as well as a recreational activity, an art form, an entertainment industry Profession, job, and a ...
,
baseball,
softball,
tennis and
golf are played.
Water sports also occur. These include
water skiing,
wakeboarding,
swimming,
surfing
Surfing is a surface water sport in which an individual, a surfer (or two in tandem surfing), uses a board to ride on the forward section, or face, of a moving wave of water, which usually carries the surfer towards the shore. Waves suitabl ...
,
tubing and
water polo. The modern
Olympics
The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...
have been held during the summer months every four years since 1896. The
2000 Summer Olympics
The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...
, in
Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
, were held in
spring and the
2016 Summer Olympics
The 2016 Summer Olympics ( pt, Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2016), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad ( pt, Jogos da XXXI Olimpíada) and also known as Rio 2016, was an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 20 ...
, in
Rio de Janeiro, were held in
winter.
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 for
animated movies
Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most anim ...
to be released theatrically in
movie theaters.
With many schools closed, especially in Western countries, travel and vacationing tend to peak during the summer. Teenagers and university students often take
summer jobs, and business activity for the recreation, tourism, restaurant, and retail industries reach their peak.
File:Bike86.jpg, Children cycling during summer
File:Barefoot skiing.jpg, Barefoot skiing
File:Fig tree.jpg, Fig trees
''Ficus'' ( or ) is a genus of about 850 species of woody trees, shrubs, vines, epiphytes and hemiepiphytes in the family (biology), family Moraceae. Collectively known as fig trees or figs, they are native throughout the tropics with a few spe ...
bear fruit when summer is near
File:Fan in the summer.jpg, Using a handheld fan in summer
See also
*
Summer Olympic Games
The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inau ...
*
Summer War
The Summer War (Estonian: ''Suvesõda)'' was the occupation of Estonia during the Second World War. It was fought between the Forest Brothers (Metsavennad), the Omakaitse, and the Wehrmacht's 18th Army against the forces of the 8th Army of the U ...
References
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