Do you know why summer is the hottest season? It’s not because the earth is closest to the sun then. In fact, on July 5 the earth reached its farthest distance from the sun, a point that is called “aphelion” (I think of it as “a” for “away”). The Northern Hemisphere is hottest in June through August because of the angle of the earth’s North Pole towards the sun, which gives the Northern Hemisphere long days and more direct sunlight, adding to the incoming solar energy that drives our temperature. You can read more about aphelion at EarthSky here.
