Topic: summer

Summer is the hottest of the four temperate seasons, occurring after spring and before autumn. At or centred
on the summer solstice, the earliest sunrise and latest sunset occurs, daylight hours are longest and dark hours
are shortest, with day length decreasing as the season progresses after the solstice. The date of the beginning
of summer varies according to climate, tradition, and culture. When it is summer in the Northern Hemisphere,
it is winter in the Southern Hemisphere, and vice versa.

Timing

From an astronomical view, the equinoxes and solstices would be the middle of the respective seasons, but
sometimes astronomical summer is defined as starting at the solstice, the time of maximal insolation, often
identified with the 21st day of June or December. By solar reckoning, summer instead starts on May Day and
the summer solstice is Midsummer. A variable seasonal lag means that the meteorological centre of the
season, which is based on average temperature patterns, occurs several weeks after the time of maximal
insolation.The meteorological convention is to define summer as comprising the months of June, July, and
August in the northern hemisphere and the months of December, January, and February in the southern
hemisphere. Under meteorological definitions, all seasons are arbitrarily set to start at the beginning of a
calendar month and end at the end of a month. This meteorological definition of summer also aligns with the
commonly viewed notion of summer as the season with the longest (and warmest) days of the year, in which
daylight predominates.

The meteorological reckoning of seasons is used in countries including Australia, New Zealand, Austria,
Denmark, Russia and Japan. It is also used by many people in the United Kingdom and Canada. In Ireland, the
summer months according to the national meteorological service, Met Éireann, are June, July and August. By
the Irish Calendar, summer begins on 1 May and ends on 1 August. School textbooks in Ireland follow the
cultural norm of summer commencing on 1 May rather than the meteorological definition of 1 June.

Days continue to lengthen from equinox to solstice and summer days progressively shorten after the solstice,
so meteorological summer encompasses the build-up to the longest day and a diminishing thereafter, with
summer having many more hours of daylight than spring. Reckoning by hours of daylight alone, summer
solstice marks the midpoint, not the beginning, of the seasons. Midsummer takes place over the shortest night
of the year, which is the summer solstice, or on a nearby date that varies with tradition.

Where a seasonal lag of half a season or more is common, reckoning based on astronomical markers is shifted
half a season. By this method, in North America, summer is the period from the summer solstice (usually 20 or
21 June in the Northern Hemisphere) to the autumn equinox.Reckoning by cultural festivals, the summer
season in the United States is traditionally regarded as beginning on Memorial Day weekend (the last weekend
in May) and ending on Labor Day (the first Monday in September), more closely in line with the meteorological
definition for the parts of the country that have four-season weather. The similar Canadian tradition starts
summer on Victoria Day one week prior (although summer conditions vary widely across Canada's expansive
territory) and ends, as in the United States, on Labour Day.

In some Southern Hemisphere countries such as Brazil, Argentina, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand,
summer is associated with the Christmas and New Year holidays. Many families take extended holidays for two
or three weeks or longer during summer.

In Chinese astronomy, summer starts on or around 5 May, with the jiéqì (solar term) known as lìxià ( 立夏), i.e.
"establishment of summer", and it ends on or around 6 August.

In southern and southeast Asia, where the monsoon occurs, summer is more generally defined as lasting from
March, April, May and June, the warmest time of the year, ending with the onset of the monsoon
rains.Because the temperature lag is shorter in the oceanic temperate southern hemisphere, most countries in
this region use the meteorological definition with summer starting on 1 December and ending on the last day
of February.

Weather

Summer is traditionally associated with hot or warm weather. In Mediterranean climates, it is also associated
with dry weather, while in other places (particularly in Eastern Asia because of the monsoon) it is associated
with rainy weather. The wet season is the main period of vegetation growth within the savanna climate regime.
Where the wet season is associated with a seasonal shift in the prevailing winds, it is known as a monsoon.

In the northern Atlantic Ocean, a distinct tropical cyclone season occurs from 1 June to 30 November. The
statistical peak of the Atlantic hurricane season is 10 September. The Northeast Pacific Ocean has a broader
period of activity, but in a similar timeframe to the Atlantic. The Northwest Pacific sees tropical cyclones year-
round, with a minimum in February and March and a peak in early September. In the North Indian basin,
storms are most common from April to December, with peaks in May and November. In the Southern
Hemisphere, the tropical cyclone season runs from the start of November until the end of April with peaks in
mid-February to early March.Thunderstorm season in the United States and Canada runs in the spring through
summer but sometimes can run as late as October or even November in the fall. These storms can produce
hail, strong winds and tornadoes, usually during the afternoon and evening.

Holidays
School breaks

Schools and universities typically have a summer break to take advantage of the warmer weather and longer
days. In almost all countries, children are out of school during this time of year for summer break, although
dates vary. Many families will take holidays for a week or two over summer, particularly in Southern
Hemisphere Western countries with statutory Christmas and New Year holidays.

In the United States, public schools usually end in late May in Memorial Day weekend, while colleges finish in
early May. Public school traditionally resumes near Labor Day, while higher institutions often resume in mid-
August.

In England and Wales, school ends in mid-July and resumes again in early September. In Scotland, the summer
holiday begins in late June and ends in mid-to late-August. Similarly, in Canada the summer holiday starts on
the last or second-last Friday in June and ends in late August or on the first Tuesday of September, with the
exception of when that date falls before Labour Day, in which case, ends on the second Tuesday of the month.
In Russia the summer holiday begins at the end of May and ends on 31 August.

In the Southern Hemisphere, school summer holiday dates include the major holidays of Christmas and New
Year's Day. School summer holidays in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa begin in early December and
end in early February, with dates varying between states. In South Africa, the new school year usually starts
during the second week of January, thus aligning the academic year with the Calendar year. In India, school
ends in late April and resumes in early or mid-June. In Cameroon and Nigeria, schools usually finish for summer
vacation in mid-July and resume in the later weeks of September or the first week of October.