What is summer?
Summer is one of the four seasons that begins after spring and ends with the arrival of autumn.
It is marked by rising temperatures and remains for 3 months (from the end of December to the end of March).
In Brazil, summer starts on December 21st or 22nd and ends on March 20th or 21st .
In many countries, summer corresponds to the period of school holidays and the time when the beaches are crowded.
The main features of the summer
- Increased temperatures;
- The occurrence of rains is generally rapid, but of strong intensity;
- Longer days;
- Shorter nights.
The difference in the length of days and nights is because part of the planet Earth is closer to the sun.
The beginning of summer begins with the summer solstice
The summer solstice marks the beginning of the season. At that moment, one of the Earth’s hemispheres is tilted towards the Sun, receiving a greater amount of sunlight.
This slope is in relation to latitude, starting from the Equator. Thus, the farther from the Equator, the greater the incidence of sunlight.
While one hemisphere is in the summer solstice, the opposite hemisphere is in the winter solstice . For example, while it is summer in the southern hemisphere, at the same time it is winter in the northern hemisphere.
The solstice and equinox happen because of the Earth’s rotation and translation movements.
Summer in the northern and southern hemispheres
In terrestrial hemispheres, seasons happen at different times, with dates being:
- Northern Hemisphere : Also called the boreal summer , the summer begins on the 20th or 21st of June and runs until the 22nd or 23rd of September.
- Southern Hemisphere : Also called the southern summer , the summer starts on December 21st or 22nd and ends on March 20th or 21st.
What is daylight saving time?
Daylight saving time is characterized by the advance of hours according to the local time zone and currently around 30 countries use it.
As the days are longer in this season, the purpose of this attitude is to take advantage of the sunlight, since the sun rises earlier.
Thus, daylight saving time is closely related to saving electricity . This is because it avoids the overload of energy consumption, especially in the so-called “Peak Time”, between 6 pm and 9 pm.
Daylight saving time was proposed in 1784 by the diplomat and leader of the American Revolution, Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790).
At a time when there was no electric light, the researcher proposed this measure in order to make more use of the light from the sun.
Despite Benjamin Franklin’s observations and research, the method was only adopted in the 20th century, during the First World War. Germany was the first country to implement it, as a way to save coal.
Daylight saving time in Brazil
In 2019, daylight saving time in Brazil was suspended by Jair Bolsonaro. In 2020, this measure continues and, therefore, Brazil will also not advance the clocks.
The president argued that changes in the habits of Brazilians caused energy consumption to increase significantly in the afternoon, so that the change in time no longer makes sense, as its purpose is precisely to reduce energy in the “hours of peak “, which used to happen in the early evening.
Adopted in the 1930s, this schedule had been used effectively since 1985 in the Brazilian states, except for those in the North and Northeast regions.
At that time, the clock was advanced by 1 hour in Brazil. The 1st Sunday of November, at midnight, marked the start of summer time, remaining until the 3rd Sunday of February of the following year.
Curiosities about the seasons
- The word “summer” comes from the Latin veranum tempus , which means “spring time or time of fruiting”, and is thus related to the end of spring.
- In the past, there were five seasons. The summer was divided into two moments: the summer itself, characterized by a hot and rainy climate, and the summer, characterized by a hot and dry climate.