A chilly start for Australia's shortest day of the year
Today marks the winter solstice in the Southern Hemisphere, making it both the shortest day and the longest night of the year across Australia.
The winter solstice began with a slight relief this morning from the icy conditions of yesterday, which saw the coldest start to a June day in five years in many parts of NSW, Queensland and the ACT.
But there was still a frosty chill in the air with a minimum temperature of 7 degrees recorded in Sydney and 6 degrees in Melbourne. Canberra shivered through a typically chilly morning at 0 degrees, while Hobart recorded a minimum of 3 degrees, with some warnings for icy driving conditions.
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Parts of south eastern Australia can expect some rain today, with falls predicted for Melbourne, Canberra and possibly Sydney.
The winter solstice marks the moment the Southern Hemisphere reaches its furthest tilt away from the sun.
In Hobart today there will be 14 hours and 59 minutes of daylight, the longest of any Australian capital city, according to Weatherzone.
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The axial tilt of the Earth and its elliptical orbit gives rise to the seasons, solstices and equinoxes. Getty
Darwin will see just 12 hours and 36 minutes of sunlight, the shortest day of Australia's capital cities.
After tonight, the days will start to become longer across Australia for the next 6 months.
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