Jordan to observe shortest day in 2018 on Saturday

AMMAN — The winter solstice will be at 12:22am next Saturday, Chief Islamic Justice Department astronomer Imad Mujahed said on Sunday. The sun on Saturday will rise at 6:33am and set at 4:36pm, marking the shortest day of the year, at 10 hours and three minutes.

The night will be 13 hours and 57 minutes long, Mujahed told the Jordan News Agency, Petra.

Following the first day of winter, days will start to become longer and nights shorter, until they become equal again on March 20, which is the spring equinox in the northern hemisphere.

In Jordan, the winter solstice coincides with the start of marbaniyeh, the local name given to the 40 coldest days of winter, when the country typically witnesses several depressions.