March 19, 2024

Athens News

News in English from Greece

Spring Equinox 2022: Spring has officially begun

The spring equinox was marked by very low air temperatures for the season for Greece and in general for the northern hemisphere to which our country belongs.

The astronomical event took place on the afternoon of Sunday, March 20, at 17:33 Greek time. In the southern hemisphere, the reverse process has begun – the day is decreasing, and the night is getting longer. In Greece, the day will now steadily increase until the summer solstice. ethnos.gr.

What is an equinox?

An equinox is an astronomical phenomenon when the Earth, simultaneously rotating around its axis and moving around the Sun, is in such a position relative to it that the sun’s rays fall vertically on the equator. Simply put, in all countries during this period, the day is almost equal in duration to the night.

The equinoxes in spring and autumn mark the beginning of the seasons, while the solstices correspond to the beginning of summer and winter.

This year will continue a slight shortening of the duration of spring, which will be almost one minute shorter than last year. Over the millennia, springs in the northern hemisphere have become shorter. On the other hand, if from an astronomical point of view, spring begins on the vernal equinox, then in fact, as environmental scientists have found out, due to climate change, nature enters its spring cycle earlier.

It should be noted that in Greece the day of the equinox does not coincide with the day where day and night are exactly equal. Day equals night only happens in areas just above the earth’s equator. For states that are either higher, like our country, or lower than Ecuador, the same night, equal to the day, occurs a few days before or after the “equinox”.

So, for example, in Athens, located about 38 degrees north of Ecuador, a few days ago there was an astronomical phenomenon when “day equals night.”



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