The Longest Day

Here in the UK we are now past the longest day, it's all down hill from here.  Until recently I didn't understand why the longest day didn't correspond with the hottest part of the year.  I listen to BBC radio 4 as I drive and I glean some interesting facts as I listen.  Apparently the heat continues to build after the passing of the longest day because the atmosphere is gaining temperature faster than it cools for about eight weeks so it doesn't start to cool until the length of sunlight is short enough to allow more cooling than the heat received.  I probably haven't explained that very well but that's the gist of the reason.  I found that fascinating, perhaps I'm just sad.