Earth Reaches Closest Point to the Sun Today, But Northern Hemisphere Remains Cold

Despite being at perihelion, Earth's tilt causes winter in the Northern Hemisphere while the Southern Hemisphere experiences summer.

Earth reaches perihelion today, its closest point to the sun in its annual elliptical orbit, at a distance of about 91 million miles (147 million kilometers).
The tilt of Earth's axis, not its distance from the sun, is responsible for seasonal changes, resulting in winter for the Northern Hemisphere and summer for the Southern Hemisphere.
Perihelion slightly increases the amount of solar energy Earth receives, but this has minimal impact on global temperatures due to the distribution of land and ocean between hemispheres.
Earth's orbit affects the length of seasons, with the Northern Hemisphere experiencing a shorter winter and longer summer due to the planet's faster orbital speed near perihelion.
The phenomenon of perihelion was first explained by Johannes Kepler in the 17th century, who discovered that planets orbit the sun in ellipses, not perfect circles.