Summer Solstice Brings a Day of the Sun Working Overtime

There are 24 hours in a day for everyone, but on the summer solstice the day is harder on some than on others.

The summer solstice on Sunday heralded the beginning of the season, when the Earth’s orbit is at its greatest tilt toward the sun, according to NASA.

This year, for those in the Northern Hemisphere, summer began at 11:31 p.m. Eastern time, according to the National Weather Service. But before summer began, those in the Northern Hemisphere had to endure the calendar day with the most daylight of the year.

In some cities, the extra sunlight isn’t noticed by most on a June day — perhaps it simply allows for more time at the lake or by the pool. New York City totaled 15 hours, 6 minutes of sunlight, and Los Angeles was set to get 14 hours, 26 minutes.

But farther north, in Anchorage, Alaska, the day barely seemed to end, with 19 hours, 21 minutes of sunlight.

Michael Vuotto, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Anchorage, said that for some Alaskans, the constant sunlight could interfere with sleep, prompting many to buy blackout curtains.

Vuotto said he makes it a point to go to bed at the same time regardless of the season. “Fight the daylight,” he said, “and go to sleep.”

Farther south, the pangs of the summer solstice weren’t about the hours of daylight, but rather the heat.

El Paso, Texas, which recorded 14 hours, 13 minutes of sunlight on Sunday, hit a high temperature of 109 degrees, breaking a daily record in the city, according to the Weather Service.

On the longest day of the year, such scorching heat would push most people to spend all day indoors, but that wasn’t not an option for people whose work compels them to be outdoors.

Jorge Salgado, 30, a freelance photographer based in El Paso, shot pictures of an El Paso Chihuahuas minor league baseball game on Sunday under the hot sun. “Lord, please hose us down,” Salgado said on Twitter.

Salgado said that he was used to the intense heat, but that Sunday was “incredibly hot.” “My cameras continue giving me overheating notices, which isn’t common most days,” he said.

In some cities where it wasn’t as hot, the day was something to celebrate. In New York City, yogis gathered in Times Square for a day of classes to celebrate the solstice.