Prelims 2019 · Q20
EasyOn 21st June, the Sun
Answer & explanation
Answer: (a) does not set below the horizon at the Arctic Circle
21 June is the June (northern summer) solstice: the North Pole is tilted towards the Sun, the noon Sun is overhead at the Tropic of Cancer, and every place on or north of the Arctic Circle (about 66½° N) has the Sun above the horizon for the full 24 hours.
- ✓ (a) The Arctic Circle is defined as the southern limit of the zone where the Sun does not set on at least one day a year — the June solstice.
- ✗ (b) On the same day the Antarctic Circle has the opposite: the Sun does not rise, giving 24 hours of night.
- ✗ (c) The noon Sun is overhead at the Equator only at the equinoxes (around 21 March and 23 September).
- ✗ (d) The Sun is overhead at the Tropic of Capricorn at the December solstice (around 22 December); on 21 June it is over the Tropic of Cancer.
Remember · 21 June: Sun overhead at Tropic of Cancer; midnight sun at and north of the Arctic Circle; polar night at the Antarctic Circle. Reversed around 22 December.
📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 7 Curiosity, Ch 12 (practise this chapter)
Sources
- National Snow and Ice Data Center: Arctic weather and climate ↗ · reference work “The Arctic Circle marks the latitude above which the sun does not set on the summer solstice, on or about June 21, and does not rise on the winter solstice, on or about December 21.”
- US National Weather Service (NOAA), Cleveland: The Seasons, the Equinox, and the Solstices ↗ “The summer solstice occurs when the sun is directly over the Tropic of Cancer, which is located at 23.5° latitude North”
- NCERT Class 7 · Curiosity, Chapter 12 “In the Northern Hemisphere, the longest day occurs around 21 June—this is known as summer solstice.”
Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2019, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink ·