Aphelion Phenomenon Will NOT Make Earth Experience 'Colder Weather Than Ever...

Source: Visit website

Will the earth experience ⁘colder weather than ever before⁘ during the ⁘aphelion phenomenon⁘ in August, 2025, as its elliptical orbit takes it to its most distant-from-the-Sun position of the year, as multiple social media posts claim?

No, that's not true: Earth's distance from the Sun changes daily and at aphelion, the Earth's distance from the Sun is only about 3% more than the average distance. Other factors have a greater impact on temperature, including the atmosphere's ability to slow fluctuations in heat and the 24-degree tilt in Earth's axis, which determines the duration and intensity of sunlight striking the planet.

The posts include a variety of graphics showing the elliptical orbit of the Earth around the Sun, like this one:

This fact check addresses only the astrophysics falsehoods, not the various health claims also made, which rest on the underlying misstatement of the effects of Earth's elliptical orbit.

Both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres see big shifts in seasonal temperature averages because Earth is tilted 23.5 degrees in the plane of its orbit.

This means solar radiation strikes more directly and for longer days in the summer in the Northern Hemisphere. In winter, Earth's orbit carries the southern hemisphere into position for more direct solar radiation and longer days. Aphelion is not a factor in seasonal temperature change, as astronomy columnist Phil Plait (a Ph.D. astronomer) spelled out in a Scientific American article about the question.

As the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's scientists have explained, winds and ocean currents redistribute Earth's heat , (archived here ) as Earth's rotation, plus unequal heating of the surface (due to the Earth's tilted axis), move weather across the planet's surface.