Bangkok basks in maximum sunlight as Summer Solstice arrives

The sun will be up longer today as today marks the Summer Solstice, which is the longest day of the year.

Bangkok’s early birds will have noticed that the sun rose at 5:51am. When it sets at 6:47pm, it will have shone for 12 hours and 56 minutes in Thailand, according to astronomy and space science chief Suphaphruek Krirahanon.

So if you feel like the sun is taking a lot longer to set, then there’s your answer.

All that sun will translate into a high of 35C today, rising to 37C on Friday and weekend highs of 35C. Expect scattered showers with rainfall picking up Monday onward.

For those south of the equator, it is the year’s shortest day. 

The next seasonal solar phenomenon will be the Autumnal Equinox on Sept. 23 this year, when the sun shines directly upon the equator, resulting in an equal duration of daytime and nighttime.

It marks the beginning of autumn in the northern hemisphere, and spring in the southern.