MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines, along with other countries in the Northern Hemisphere, will experience the longest night of the year today as the winter solstice begins, the state weather bureau said yesterday.
“The Philippine nights will be longer than daytime. Earth has now completed another annual circuit around the Sun,” said Nathaniel Servando, administrator of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA).
He said the winter solstice marks the time when the sun lies at its farthest point south of the equator.
“It signals the onset of winter in the Northern Hemisphere and summer in the Southern Hemisphere,” he said.
PAGASA senior weather forecaster Rene Paciente said the winter solstice begins at 1:38 p.m. Philippine Standard Time.
The country would experience 12 hours and 46 minutes of darkness from 5:32 p.m. today until 6:16 a.m. tomorrow.