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Summer or summertime is the Heat and brightest of the four temperate , occurring after spring and before autumn. At or centred on the summer solstice, daylight hours are the longest and darkness hours are the shortest, with day length decreasing as the season progresses after the solstice. The earliest sunrises and latest sunsets also occur near the date of the solstice. The date of the beginning of summer varies according to definition, climate, tradition, and culture. When it is summer in the Northern Hemisphere, it is winter in the Southern Hemisphere, and vice versa.
The meteorological reckoning of seasons is used in countries including Australia, New Zealand, Austria, Denmark, Russia and Japan. It is also used by many people in the United Kingdom and Canada. In Ireland, the summer months according to the national meteorological service, Met Éireann, are June, July and August.
Days continue to lengthen from equinox to solstice and summer days progressively shorten after the solstice, so meteorological summer encompasses the build-up to the longest day and a diminishing thereafter, with summer having many more hours of daylight than spring. Reckoning by hours of daylight alone, summer solstice marks the midpoint, not the beginning, of the seasons. Midsummer takes place over the shortest night of the year, which is the summer solstice, or on a nearby date that varies with tradition.
A variable seasonal lag means that the meteorological midpoint of the season, which is based on average temperature patterns, occurs several weeks after the time of maximal insolation.
Likewise, in Anglo-Saxon England, summer began on 9 May and its midpoint was the summer solstice or Midsummer, on 24 June. (2025). 9781843844099, Boydell & Brewer. ISBN 9781843844099 In England, 24 June continued to be called Midsummer Day and was one of the of the English calendar. Elsewhere in northern Europe, midsummer and the solstice were traditionally reckoned as the night of 23–24 June.
Traditionally, in much of Europe, summer began with May Day, and the time around the summer solstice was seen as the middle of summer. In Gaelic Ireland and Scotland, summer began with the festival of Bealtaine on 1 May and ended with Lughnasa on 1 August.Hutton, Ronald. The Stations of the Sun: A History of the Ritual Year in Britain. Oxford University Press, 1996. pp. 218–225Koch, John T. Celtic Culture: A Historical Encyclopedia. 2006. p. 202 Likewise, in Wales, summer began with the festival of Calan Mai (meaning "first of Summer") on 1 May.
Reckoning by cultural festivals, the summer season in the United States is traditionally regarded as beginning on Memorial Day weekend (the last weekend in May) and ending on Labor Day (the first Monday in September), more closely in line with the meteorological definition for the parts of the country that have four-season weather. The similar Canada tradition starts summer on Victoria Day one week prior (although summer conditions vary widely across Canada's expansive territory) and ends, as in the United States, on Labour Day.
In some Southern Hemisphere countries such as Brazil, Argentina, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand, summer is associated with the Christmas and New Year holidays. Many families take extended holidays for two or three weeks or longer during summer.
In Australia and New Zealand, summer begins on 1 December and ends on 28 February (29 February in leap years).
In Chinese astronomy, summer starts on or around 5 May, with the Jieqi (solar term) known as lixia (立夏), i.e. "establishment of summer". (1991). 9780835124812, China Books & Periodicals. ISBN 9780835124812 Summer ends around 7 August, with the solar term of liqiu (立秋, "establishment of autumn").
In southern and southeast Asia, where the monsoon occurs, summer is more generally defined as lasting from March, April, May and June, the warmest time of the year, ending with the onset of the monsoon .
Because the temperature lag is shorter in the oceanic temperate southern hemisphere, (2025). 9780495555063, Cengage Learning. ISBN 9780495555063 most countries in this region use the meteorological definition with summer starting on 1 December and ending on the last day of February.
In the northern Atlantic Ocean, a distinct tropical cyclone season occurs from 1 June to 30 November. The statistical peak of the Atlantic hurricane season is 10 September. The Northeast Pacific Ocean has a broader period of activity, but in a similar timeframe to the Atlantic. The Northwest Pacific sees tropical cyclones year-round, with a minimum in February and March and a peak in early September. In the North Indian basin, storms are most common from April to December, with peaks in May and November. In the Southern Hemisphere, the tropical cyclone season runs from the start of November until the end of April with peaks in mid-February to early March.
Thunderstorm season in the United States and Canada runs in the spring through summer but sometimes can run as late as October or even November in the Autumn. These storms can produce hail, strong winds and tornadoes, usually during the afternoon and evening.
In the United States, public schools usually end in late May in Memorial Day weekend, while colleges finish in early May. Schools often resume in mid-August. Note that school start and end dates vary significantly across the US.
In England and Wales, school ends in mid-July and resumes again in early September. In Scotland, the summer holiday begins in late June and ends in mid-to-late August. Similarly, in Canada the summer holiday starts on the last or second-last Friday in June and ends in late August or on the first Tuesday of September, with the exception of when that date falls before Labour Day, in which case, ends on the second Tuesday of the month. In Russia, the summer holiday begins at the end of May and ends on 31 August.
In the Southern Hemisphere, school summer holiday dates include the major holidays of Christmas and New Year's Day. School summer holidays in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa begin in early December and end in early February, with dates varying between states. In South Africa, the new school year usually starts during the second week of January, thus aligning the academic year with the Calendar year. In India, school ends in late April and resumes in early or mid-June. In Cameroon and Nigeria, schools usually start a summer vacation in mid-July and resume in the later weeks of September or the first week of October.
Water sports also occur. These include water skiing, wakeboarding, human swimming, surfing, tubing and water polo. The modern Olympics have been held during the summer months every four years since 1896. The 2000 Summer Olympics, in Sydney, were held in spring and the 2016 Summer Olympics, in Rio de Janeiro, were held in winter.
In the United States, many television shows made for children are released during the summer, as children are off school.
Conversely, the music and film industries generally experience higher returns during the summer than other times of the year and market their summer hits accordingly. Summer is popular for animated movies to be released theatrically in movie theaters.
With many schools closed, especially in Western countries, travel and vacationing tend to peak during the summer. Teenagers and university students often take summer jobs, and business activity for the recreation, tourism, restaurant, and retail industries reach their peak.
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