Winter has officially arrived in Qatar
Winter officially began in Qatar on Friday as the country and the entire Northern Hemisphere observed the winter solstice — the astronomical beginning of winter — said the Qatar Meteorology Department (QMD).
In a post on its official channel on X, formerly known as Twitter, the QMD said the winter solstice marked the end of autumn and the beginning of winter astronomically.
اليوم الجمعة بداية #الانقلاب_الشتوي وهو بداية فصل الشتاء فلكياً. #قطر #فلك pic.twitter.com/0gaMBNaLpg
— أرصاد قطر (@qatarweather) December 22, 2023
This happens every year because of the 23.5° tilt of the Earth’s rotational axis while orbiting the sun, where the sun becomes perpendicular to the Tropic of Capricorn.
Qatar and the rest of the northern hemisphere on Friday witnessed the year’s shortest day and longest night. Because of time zone differences, Europe, Africa, and Asia marked their winter solstice on Friday, December 22.
“Winter Solstice is an astronomical phenomenon that takes place this year on Friday 22 December 2023, which marks the shortest day and longest night of the year in Northern hemisphere with no sunrise or sunset at the Arctic circle,” said the QMD.
The situation will be the reverse in the Southern hemisphere, where only about 10% of the world’s population lives.
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