Today's Edition
RAJEEV CHERIAN (ABU DHABI)
An invisible line that circles the earth passes through Abu Dhabi, offering a geographic reference to understanding the peak summer season. The Tropic of Cancer comes into focus on the summer solstice on Sunday.
With the arrival of the summer solstice, Abu Dhabi is set to witness the longest day of the year, nearly 14 hours of daylight, marking the peak of summer.
On the summer solstice, the earth is tilted slightly more than 23 degrees towards the sun. Due to this tilt, the sun takes a longer path across the sky, resulting in the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere.
During this time, the sun’s rays come directly above the Tropic of Cancer. This marks the summer solstice, when the Northern Hemisphere is tilted most towards the sun.
The astronomical pattern is reversed in December when the Northern Hemisphere is tilted away from the sun and the Southern Hemisphere is tilted towards it. As a result, the solar rays fall directly above the Tropic of Capricorn. This marks winter in the Northern Hemisphere, with the shortest day and longest night, and summer in the Southern Hemisphere.
The Tropic of Cancer is one of the five major lines of latitude on the globe, lying at around 23.5 degrees north of the Equator.
A signboard in Al Dhafra Region, along the E65 highway on the road to Liwa, marks the crossing of the line through the Emirate.
Marina Bruce, known as The Desert Diva, a former Al Dhafra resident now based in Scotland, where she helps promote tourism to the UAE, said the Tropic of Cancer crosses only the Abu Dhabi Emirate in the country for approximately 337 kilometres.
“Much of the route lies across desert, experienced offroaders can follow the route for much of the way, in the cooler months,” Bruce told Aletihad.
“About 10 years ago, when I lived in Al Dhafra, I plotted the Tropic of Cancer across the UAE, loving the idea that such an important line of latitude ran through the Abu Dhabi desert, mostly unnoticed. For me, it is one of the UAE’s quiet geographical treasures — a reminder that beyond the cities and beaches, this is also a country of vast deserts, big skies, science and fascinating natural geography,” Bruce added.
