When Do Seasons Start _best_ Jun 2026

Trenberth, K. E. (1983). "What are the seasons?" Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society , 64(11), 1276–1282. https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0477(1983)064<1276:WATS>2.0.CO;2

Meteorologists and climatologists use a different system. Instead of looking at the stars, they look at the thermometer. They break the year into four three-month periods based on the annual temperature cycle. when do seasons start

Earth's orbit isn't a perfect circle; it’s an oval. This means the Earth moves at different speeds at different points in its journey. Trenberth, K

"Defining seasons: a quantitative approach to the onset of spring, summer, autumn, and winter" (or similar — but the classic reference below is key) when do seasons start

The sun crosses the equator again, heading south. We begin to lose daylight rapidly.