Viral Social Media Claim: Will Earth Become Colder from Today? Scientists Clarify

A news post is going viral on social media claiming that the Earth will become significantly colder starting today due to a phenomenon called Aphelion—when Earth is farthest from the Sun. The posts also warn that people may face health issues like cold, sore throat, and cough because of this supposed cooling effect.

Normally, the average distance between the Earth and the Sun is 149.6 million km. During aphelion, this distance increases only by about 3% (to 152 million km). Some viral messages claim that this small difference reduces the Sun’s impact, leading to colder weather on Earth.

However, experts have confirmed that these claims are false. Former IMD scientist Dr. Ramesh Gupta explained that aphelion is a natural event and does not cause drastic temperature drops. In fact, this year’s aphelion already occurred on July 5, and Earth is now slowly moving closer to the Sun again.

Scientists emphasize that Earth’s 23.5° axial tilt is the main reason for seasons and climate variations—not the slight distance change from the Sun.

Meteorologists urge people not to believe misleading viral posts and to rely only on official weather department updates.