The shortest day of the year
(Level: Intermediate to upper-intermediate / B2 / ** to ***)

The shortest day of the year
Picture credit: www.pinterest.com

The winter solstice is the shortest day of the year and came on 21 December 2014 at 23:03 UTC or GMT (*) or on 22 December 2014 at 00:03 CET (**).


(*) UTC: Universal Time Coordinated (also called Coordinated Universal Time or CUT) corresponds with GMT (Greenwich Mean Time) 

(**) CET: Central European Time (= GMT +1 or UTC + 1) in winter (and CEST = Central European Summer Time in summer).



Before watching:


You are going to listen to BBC Weather's John Hammond explaining what the winter solstice is.

The following word could be useful:
to tilt: to incline      incliner



While watching:

Identify the following diagrams (make notes in French):

Diagram 1
Credit: www.thesuntoday.org

Diagram 1

Winter solstice or summer solstice? 

Consequences for:
- the UK?
- the Arctic?
- the Antarctic?

Cause?

Diagram 2
Credit: www.thesuntoday.org

Diagram 2

Winter solstice or summer solstice? 

Consequences for:
- the UK?
- the Arctic?
- the Antarctic?

Cause?

You can also watch the video on the BBC site by clicking HERE







When you are finished, you can check your answers:

Diagram 1

Solstice d'été    /  Summer solstice  

Consequences for:
- the UK?  
16 heures d'ensoleillement vers le 21 juin / Journées les plus longues
- the Arctic?   
Le soleil ne se couche pas  (= soleil de minuit  / le soleil reste au-dessus de l'horizon) 
- the Antarctic?  
Le soleil ne se lève pas ( = nuit polaire) 

Cause?
L'hémisphère nord pointe le plus en direction du soleil (du fait de l'inclinaison de l'axe de la Terre sur le plan de son orbite) 



Diagram 2

Solstice d'hiver    /  Winter solstice  

Consequences for:
- the UK? 
  8 heures d'ensoleillement (vers le 21 décembre) / Journées les plus courtes
- the Arctic?    
Le soleil ne se lève pas  (le soleil reste en-dessous de l'horizon) 
- the Antarctic?  
Le soleil ne se couche pas  

Cause?
L'hémisphère sud pointe le plus en direction du soleil (du fait de l'inclinaison de l'axe de la Terre sur le plan de son orbite)

The seasons
Credit: scienceblogs.com