Why are the warmest/coldest days not near the solstice but rather a few weeks after the date?

Question

Technically, on the solstice the sun is warming up the hemisphere for the longest/shortest time…

In: Planetary Science

Answer 1

It’s about gain versus loss. In December you are losing more heat than you are gaining. In June you are gaining more heat than you are losing. But in July, even after the days are getting shorter, they are still longer than the nights. You are still gaining heat. Think of it like a bathtub. If you drain water at 1 gallon a minute, the tub will fill at an intake of any number higher than that. At the peak of 2 gallons a minute intake the water level goes up, but when you turn the water intake down to 1 and 1/2 gallons a minute, your tub is still filling. Only after you go below 1 gallon a minute intake does the tub start to drain. It continues to fill after the maximum and only starts to drain when the fill rate is less than the drain rate.