• What are the seasons of the year?
• Characteristics of the stations
• Why do the seasons exist?
• solstices and equinoxes
• Seasons of the year in the northern hemisphere
• Seasons of the year in the southern hemisphere
• Seasons of the year in Mexico

We explain everything about the seasons of the year, how they are generated and what their characteristics are. Also, what are the solstices and equinoxes.

Each season has its own characteristics, which are usually similar in different regions.

What are the seasons of the year?

The seasons of the year, spring, summer, autumn and winter, are the four regular periods in which each year is divided, according to the specific and recurrent climatic conditions that manifest in the atmosphere. Each one lasts approximately three months, and in total they make up a cyclical system of meteorological and climatic conditions, which occurs continuously.

The seasons are a planetary phenomenon, a consequence of the movements of translation and tilt of planet in its orbit around the Sun, and although they occur in the two terrestrial hemispheres, they always do so in an inverted way, that is, when it is summer in the north, it is winter in the south and vice versa. To distinguish between them, we normally speak of boreal seasons (in the northern hemisphere) and austral seasons (in the southern hemisphere).

In addition, the seasons manifest themselves in very different ways depending on the climatic band. For example, the regions closest to the equator do not present defined seasons, but rather periods of rain and drought with slight variations in temperature. temperature, while in the temperate zone the seasons are marked and with substantial differences in climatic and meteorological matters. Even so, the exact way each season manifests itself depends on the geography of the place.

From a general point of view, the four seasons can be understood as follows:

• Winter (from Latin hibernus). It is the coldest time of the year, in which the Sun hits in a less direct and less intense way, so that the growth of the floors it slows down or stops and in some places there are frosts, snowfalls and other more extreme weather phenomena.
• Spring (from Latin first you will see). It is the time of rebirth, when the Sun becomes hotter again and the ice begins to melt, a moment that the plants take advantage of to green up and flourish. Hibernating animal species come out of their burrows and the days begin to lengthen.
• Summer (from Latin summer). It is the hottest time of the year, in which the Sun hits directly and intensely, raising temperatures. It is the time of harvest, in which plants produce fruits and most animals take the opportunity to reproduce.
• Autumn (from the Latin autumnus). It is the time when the leaves of the trees wither, when the climate begins to cool down and life prepares for the arrival of winter. It is a time culturally associated with melancholy and sadness, since the nights begin to become longer than the days.

Different cultures From ancient times they understood the seasons as an eternal cycle, to which they associated their functional accounts and their cosmological cycles. The lengthening of the nights and the weakness of the Sun during the winter months, for example, were associated with the death and the end of time, which made spring a time of rebirth and celebration, of the victory of life over death.

This type of association metaphors they are present in numerous mythological traditions and even in the symbology of most religious doctrines.

Characteristics of the stations

The seasons of the year are characterized by the following:

• They make up a cycle or circuit that is repeated every year, with slight variations in terms of the start or end dates of each period. Its correspondence with the months of the year depends on the terrestrial hemisphere in which one is: January is a winter month in the northern hemisphere; but a summer month in the southern hemisphere.
• They manifest themselves through more or less substantial changes in climate, such as temperature and humidity. humidity atmospheric, and also in meteorological conditions, such as droughts, rains, snowfalls, hailstorms, winds, among others. Each season has its own characteristics, which are usually more or less similar between one geographic region and the others.
• There are always four seasons and with an average duration of three months each, thus covering the twelve months of the year. In equatorial regions, however, the year has two seasons: the rainy season and the dry season, each lasting approximately six months.
• The limits between one season and another are usually diffuse and gradual, that is, there is no sharp and sudden change between one and the other. The transit points between one station and the other are known as solstices Y equinoxes.
• Each season presents certain typical features, but their manifestation may depend on the geographical location: the relief, the climatic strip, the proximity of the coast, among others.

Why do the seasons exist?

The tilt of the earth's axis allows the seasons to change.

The seasons are due to the combination of:

• The movement of translation of our planet, which consists of the orbital path of the planet around the Sun, which takes approximately 365 days to complete, that is, one year.
• The constant inclination of its axis, which is approximately 23.5° with respect to the ecliptic plane, that is, our planet is permanently tilted, which is why it receives the sun's rays unevenly, depending on its position in the orbit.

This means that at the extremes of its orbit, the incidence of the sun's rays varies, arriving directly and frontally to one hemisphere (where summer will be experienced) and indirectly and obliquely to the other (where winter will be experienced). . Thus, the angle at which sunlight strikes the planet varies throughout the year, creating longer or shorter days, depending on the hemisphere.

solstices and equinoxes

The solstices and equinoxes are key points in the Earth's orbit around the Sun.

It is called solstice (from the Latin sun status) and equinox (from the Latin equal nox) to the four key points of the Earth's orbit around the Sun, which always occur on the same date and mark the transit between one season and the other. There are two solstices and two equinoxes, which are:

• Solstice of June 21. At this point in the orbit, located between boreal autumn/austral spring and boreal summer/austral winter, the Earth exposes its northern hemisphere to the Sun, so that the sun's rays strike the Tropic of Cancer perpendicularly. The north heats up and the south cools down; and the southern nights become longer (there is a 6-month or polar night in the vicinity of Antarctica), as do the northern days (there is a 6-month or polar day in the vicinity of the Arctic).
• Equinox on September 23. At this point in the orbit, located between the northern summer/southern winter and the northern autumn/southern spring, both poles are exposed to solar radiation, so their rays fall perpendicular to the terrestrial equator.
• Solstice on December 21.At this point in the orbit, located between boreal autumn/austral spring and boreal winter/austral summer, the Earth exposes the southern hemisphere to the Sun, so that the sun's rays strike the Tropic of Capricorn perpendicularly. The south gets hotter and the north gets colder; and the nights in the north get longer (there is a polar or 6-month night in the vicinity of the Arctic), as do the days in the south (there is a polar day or 6-month in the vicinity of the Antarctica).
• Equinox on March 21. At this point in the orbit, located between boreal winter/austral summer and boreal spring/austral autumn, the Earth exposes both hemispheres to the Sun, and its rays strike the equator perpendicularly.

Both solstices and equinoxes have been, in various cultures, considered moments of cosmic change, that is, the closing or beginning of cycles, which had some impact on human life: the rise or fall of governments and kingdoms, the start of wars or revolutions. , and so on.

More in: Solstice, Equinox

Seasons of the year in the northern hemisphere

The boreal seasons, that is, the seasons of the northern hemisphere, occur according to the following calendar:

• Summer. From the June solstice, it extends during the months of July, August and September, coinciding with the terrestrial aphelion, that is, the point farthest from the Sun in the planetary orbit.
• Fall. From the September equinox, it extends during the months of October, November and December.
• Winter. From the December solstice, it extends during the months of January, February and March, coinciding with the terrestrial perihelion, that is, the point closest to the Sun in the planetary orbit.
• Spring. From the March equinox, it extends during the months of April, May and June.

Seasons of the year in the southern hemisphere

The southern seasons, that is, the seasons of the southern hemisphere, occur according to the following calendar:

• Summer. From the December solstice, it extends during the months of January, February and March, coinciding with the terrestrial perihelion, that is, the point closest to the Sun in the planetary orbit.
• Fall. From the March equinox, it extends during the months of April, May and June.
• Winter. From the June solstice, it extends during the months of July, August and September, coinciding with the terrestrial aphelion, that is, the farthest point from the Sun in the planetary orbit.
• Spring. From the September equinox, it extends during the months of October, November and December.

Seasons of the year in Mexico

In Mexico City the difference between winter and summer temperatures is scarce.

Being in the northern hemisphere, Mexico's climate calendar establishes summer between July and September, autumn between October and December, winter between January and March, and spring between April and June. However, due to its proximity to the Pacific and Atlantic coasts, Mexico is a country with very stable dry or humid climates, in which seasonal changes are not particularly dramatic.

The Mexican territory can be classified into two large climatic groups, divided by the Tropic of Cancer. The upper region is drier, while the lower half tends toward humid tropical climates, which means winters are dry and cold, summers are hot and rainy, and the seasons in between have cool, pleasant weather. However, the diversity of the relief means that this trend is not entirely uniform.

For example, in the desert regions of the north it is possible to witness summer temperatures of up to 50 °C, as well as freezing winters of up to -30 °C in the state of Chihuahua.In contrast, in the southern region of the Gulf of Mexico, the Yucatan Peninsula and the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, the annual variation in temperature does not usually exceed a few degrees, with very rainy summers or continuous rains throughout the year.

In the capital, the average temperature is around 19 °C, although in winter drops of up to 12 °C are recorded, while in other cities the temperature range between summer and winter is much more extreme, as is the case of Ciudad Juárez , Culiacán, Torreón, Monterrey or Hermosillo.