Where to go to watch the sunset? Astronomical summer begins in Latvia and throughout the Northern Hemisphere 0 14

June 21 is the day of the solstice and the longest day of the year. The duration of the day in Riga will reach 17 hours and 52 minutes, while in the rest of Latvia it will range from 17 hours and 33 minutes in the southern region of Augšdaugava to 18 hours and 12 minutes in the northern region of Valmiera.

On the longest day of the year, the sun shines for about 11 hours longer than on the shortest day - the day of the winter solstice.

On Sunday in Riga, the sun rose at 4:29, and the sunset in the capital will be at 22:21. The earliest sunrise occurred at 4:10 in the far northeast of Latvia, in the Pededze municipality of Alūksne County, while the latest was at 4:48 in the southwest of Latvia, on the seaside in South Kurzeme County.

The earliest sunset on the day of the solstice is expected in the southeast of the country, where on the border with Belarus the sun will set at 21:58, while the latest sunset will be in the northwest of Latvia, where by the sea in Ventspils County the sun will set at 22:36.

After the solstice, the duration of the night will begin to increase, while the days will decrease. On June 22, the day will be shorter by five seconds, on June 28 the sun will shine for five minutes less, and in a month the duration of the day will be reduced by one hour.

If the year is divided into quarters according to the duration of sunshine, the solstice marks the middle of summer. The brightest quarter of the year will end in early August, and astronomical summer will last until September 22.

Meteorological summer in Latvia this year began on June 1, as the average air temperature reached at least +15 degrees during the first ten days of the month. It will end when the average daily temperature consistently drops below +15 degrees.