When is the Winter solstice 2024? (2024)

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When is the Winter solstice 2024? ›

In 2024 the winter solstice will occur on Saturday 21 December at 9.21am GMT. The winter solstice occurs in December, and in the Northern Hemisphere the date marks the 24-hour period with the fewest daylight hours of the year. That is why it is known as the shortest day of the year, or the longest night of the year.

In 2024 the winter solstice will occur on Saturday 21 December at 9.21am GMT. The winter solstice occurs in December, and in the Northern Hemisphere the date marks the 24-hour period with the fewest daylight hours of the year. That is why it is known as the shortest day of the year, or the longest night of the year.

The two solstices happen in June (20 or 21) and December (21 or 22). These are the days when the Sun's path in the sky is the farthest north or south from the Equator. A hemisphere's winter solstice is the shortest day of the year and its summer solstice the year's longest.

In the Northern Hemisphere, this is the December solstice (December 21, 22, or 23) and in the Southern Hemisphere, this is the June solstice (June 21, 22, or 23). Although the winter solstice itself lasts only a moment, the term also refers to the day on which it occurs.

The lack of direct sunlight on Dec. 21 makes it the shortest day of the year for those in the United States.

Bottom line: The 2024 December solstice takes place on December 21, at 9:21 UTC. It marks the Northern Hemisphere's shortest day (first day of winter) and Southern Hemisphere's longest day (first day of summer).

After this, daylight increases to 9 hours, 15 minutes by New Year's Day. By mid-January, the increase jumps to about two minutes a day. By the 20th of February, daylight speeds up to three minutes per day!

It is the time when the Sun reaches its lowest point in the sky, casting the longest shadows and allowing the night to envelop the day. Symbolically, this day also represents the triumph of light over darkness, signalling the gradual return of longer days and the promise of renewed life.

Polar night is a phenomenon in the northernmost and southernmost regions of Earth where night lasts for more than 24 hours. This occurs only inside the polar circles.

At this time of year, when Earth is approaching perihelion and moving faster around the sun, our planet has to spin a little bit more to catch up to our home star, making the day a little bit longer—about 30 seconds or so.

How does the winter solstice affect humans? ›

The winter solstice also affects the body's circadian rhythm, which regulates sleep-wake cycles, hormonal release, and other physiological processes. Disruptions to the circadian rhythm can contribute to sleep disturbances, fatigue, and changes in mood.

For 6 months the days have been getting shorter as the darkness grew. But on the Winter Solstice, the Light returns. From here the days will continue to grow longer, brighter, warmer until the Sun is strong enough to return life to everything in nature. At the Winter Solstice we celebrate this tiny new light.

The gods Marduk, Osiris, Horus, Isis, Mithras, Saturn, Sol, Apollo, Serapis, and Huitzilopochli were all born on that date.

Being born on the winter solstice is sometimes considered spiritually significant, as it is believed to imbue individuals with unique qualities such as wisdom, intuition, and a connection to ancient traditions. However, this belief varies greatly depending on one's personal spiritual path and worldviews.

Senior Contributor. After a few years of speeding up, our planet now appears to be slowing down. For the first time in seven years, the average length of day became longer in 2023. Meanwhile, new predictions suggest that March 2025 will include the longest day since March 2019.

In 2024, the solstice moment will fall at 20:51 UTC (3:51 p.m. CDT) on Thursday, June 20. Note: On this solstice, the sun will be directly overhead at noon as viewed from the Tropic of Cancer. For us in the Northern Hemisphere, the June solstice marks the shortest nights and longest days of the year.

When is the summer solstice? The next summer solstice for the Northern Hemisphere will occur on June 20, 2024, and the next summer solstice for the Southern Hemisphere will occur on Dec. 21, 2024. The summer solstice marks the official start of astronomical summer and the longest day of the year.

Regardless of what kind of time we use, the day with the shortest overall length of daylight is always the winter solstice, on or about December 21, when the Sun appears to move along its most southern track in our sky.