Sun Angle and Global Temperature Pattern at the Solstices (Views from above the Equator)

At the At the December June Solstice Solstice

December June Solstice Solstice Temperature Temperature Pattern Pattern (2010) (2010)

At the December Solstice (figure, upper left): • Northern Hemisphere tilts away from the sun (by 23.5°), the Southern Hemisphere toward it. • The sun strikes the earth most directly at the Tropic of Capricorn (23.5°S latitude). • The Arctic Circle is dark all day; the Antarctic Circle is light all day. December Solstice Temperature Pattern (figure, lower left above): • The low latitudes are warm (red) (warmest in S. Hem.) and high latitudes are cold (blue). • Zone of rapid transition between them (the polar front) at midlatitudes, both hemispheres. At the June Solstice (upper right), when the earth is on the other side of the sun from December: • Northern Hemisphere tilts toward the sun (by 23.5°), Southern Hemisphere away from it. • The sun strikes the earth most directly at the Tropic of Cancer (23.5°N latitude). • The Arcitc Circle is light all day; the Antarctic Circle is dark all day. June Solstice Temperature Pattern (figure, lower right above): • Low latitudes are warm, (warmest in N. Hem.), high latitudes cold. • Polar front shifted northward in both hemispheres. • High latitudes in N. Hem. not as cold as at December solstice.

Sun Angles, Length of Daylight, and Global Temperature Pattern at the Solstices (Views from above the Northern Hemisphere)

December June Solstice: Solstice: Northern Northern Hemisphere Hemisphere View View

December June Solstice Solstice Temperature Temperature Pattern Pattern

At the December Solstice (figure, upper left): • Northern Hemisphere tilts away from the sun (by 23.5°), the Southern Hemisphere toward it. • The Arctic Circle is dark all day. December Solstice Temperature Pattern (figure, lower left above): • The low latitudes are warm (red) (warmest in S. Hem.) and high latitudes are cold (blue). • Polar front is located at midlatitudes, but relatively far south. At the June Solstice (figure, upper right); the earth is on the other side of the sun from December: • Northern Hemisphere tilts toward the sun (by 23.5°), Southern Hemisphere away from it. • The Arctic Circle is light all day. June Solstice Temperature Pattern (figure, lower right above): • Low latitudes are warm, (warmest in N. Hem.), high latitudes colder. • Polar front shifted northward. • High latitudes in N. Hem. not as nearly as cold as at December solstice.

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