Get ready to experience the shortest day and longest night of the year

Hyderabad : Cold weather this winter has intensified across the country. Minimum temperatures are recorded in all regions and the nature changes that are visible only in winter are being discovered. As part of the winter magic, India will observe the longest night and shortest day on Friday.

This time transition happens on December 21 or December 22 every year as part of the season change. This phenomenon is known as 'Winter Solstice'.

The 'Winter Solstice' occurs when the Earth's Northern Hemisphere tilts away from the Sun. During this time the Earth tilts 23.4 degrees on its axis. Because of this, the Earth's poles are farther away from the Sun during the day. Hence the shortest day and longest night.

It is because of this change that the winter solstice occurred on Friday, December 22 (today) at 8.57 am IST. As a result, the shortest daylight hours occur in the Northern Hemisphere. There is only about 7 hours and 14 minutes of daylight.