The summer solstice, around June 20, 21 in the Northern Hemisphere, is the longest day of the year, when Earth's tilt leans your half of the planet closest to the sun. This countdown is to the summer solstice 2026 on June 21, 2026, ticking down live.
Summer Solstice is on Sunday, June 21, 2026, which is 8 days away. The live countdown above ticks down to the exact moment, to the second.
The solstice is a precise astronomical moment: the sun reaches its northernmost point in the sky. Above the Arctic Circle it doesn't set at all, the midnight sun, while the Southern Hemisphere marks its shortest day.
Thousands gather at Stonehenge, whose stones align with the solstice sunrise. Sweden's Midsummer is practically a national holiday of maypoles and flower crowns, and bonfires burn across northern Europe, traditions older than written history.