The Latin words for “sun” and “to stand still” are the basis of the word solstice.
December 18, 2023, will mark the start of the shortest days of the year in the UAE. It will probably go on until Sunday, December 24, 2023, or for at least a week.
The winter solstice is the name given to the yearly astronomical occurrence. The nights will run about 13 hours and 28 minutes, according to Ibrahim Al Jarwan, Chairman of the Emirates Astronomy Society Board of Directors.
What is the winter solstice?
Winter solstice, sometimes called hibernal solstice, occurs when Earth’s poles tilt away from the Sun to the highest level. This happens twice a year, again in each hemisphere.
There will be limited daylight during the day on the winter solstice since the sun makes its shortest orbit around the sky. Given that today is the shortest day of the year, it just makes no sense that it would also have the longest night overall.
After that, the days get progressively longer until June 20th, 21st, or 22nd, which is known as the Summer Solstice. The solstice of summer marks the longest day of the year.
What does this mean for the weather?
It’s possible that some of you have noticed, but the past week has seen a little drop in temperature. However, just because it’s the winter solstice doesn’t indicate that the night will be very cold.
In January 2021, the UAE experienced its lowest temperature ever, which was a mere -2ºC. That was the first occasion that temperatures in the United Arab Emirates had risen over zero degrees since records began.
According to this week’s weather forecast, Friday will be the coldest day in Abu Dhabi at 12 degrees, while Friday will have the lowest temperature in Dubai at 14 degrees. Those working in the Arabian Peninsula can anticipate temps between 14 and 16 degrees during the course of the week.
