Iraq marks summer solstice, longest day of the year

BAGHDAD, Iraq — The summer solstice occurred across the Northern Hemisphere on Saturday, bringing the longest day and shortest night of the year, Iraq's official Teleskop (Telescope) institution said. The sun reached its highest point of the year at midday Baghdad time. According to the institution, daylight hours will gradually begin to shorten from Sunday onward, with nights growing longer until the winter solstice. At 12:04 p.m. Baghdad time, the length of shadows cast by objects will drop to their shortest level of the year. The institution advised citizens to observe the phenomenon. It also noted that, while the solstice marks the astronomical start of summer, peak temperatures in Iraq are typically recorded in July and August. Officials attributed the lag to thermal delay, the process by which land and sea absorb heat and release it back into the atmosphere over a delayed period.