If you’ve been counting down the dark mornings and early nights, relief is finally here.
Today marks the Winter Solstice in the Northern Hemisphere, officially the shortest day of the year.
At exactly 15:03 GMT, the sun will appear to “stand still” over the Tropic of Capricorn — a pause in its journey across the sky before it slowly begins to climb again.
Britain Sees Its Briefest Day
Across the UK, daylight is at a minimum. On average, Brits will enjoy just 7.5 hours of sunshine today.
That’s a dramatic drop from summer, when more than 16 hours of light stretch across the nation — a difference of nine hours! While the mercury continues to slide downward, the good news is that the hours of sunlight will now start creeping back up, day by day.
What Makes the Solstice Happen
“The amount of daylight is at its minimum, and the night is at its longest,” says Dr Shyam Balaji, an astrophysics expert at King’s College London.
“After the December solstice, the days start to get longer in the Northern Hemisphere.”
The term ‘solstice’ comes from the Latin words sol (sun) and sistere (to stand still), describing the moment when the sun’s apparent motion north or south halts before reversing.
The reason behind this celestial pause is Earth’s tilt.
Our planet leans at roughly 23.5 degrees relative to its orbit around the sun.
This tilt is why different parts of Earth receive varying sunlight through the year.
During the December solstice, the Northern Hemisphere tilts farthest away from the sun, giving us our shortest day and longest night.
Daylight Hours Vary Across the UK
How long the sun lingers depends heavily on your location.
Londoners will see 7 hours, 49 minutes, and 42 seconds of daylight, while those in Truro in the south get slightly more, at 8 hours, 1 minute, and 55 seconds.
Meanwhile, the far north isn’t so lucky: John O’Groats in Scotland will experience just 6 hours, 16 minutes, and 54 seconds of sun today.
The Start of Astronomical Winter
The Winter Solstice also marks the official start of winter in the astronomical calendar, which tracks the Earth’s tilt relative to the sun.
This year, astronomical winter begins today, 21 December 2025, and runs until 20 March 2026.
By contrast, meteorological winter works a bit differently.
It splits the year into four three-month seasons, meaning winter always starts on 1 December and ends on 28 February (or 29 in a leap year).
While the solstice sets the celestial timetable, the meteorological calendar keeps things tidy for record-keeping and seasonal statistics.
Looking Ahead
With the solstice behind us, the countdown to longer days officially begins.
Each sunrise will linger a little longer, and while the cold may bite for now, the promise of more daylight is a sure sign that brighter days are on the horizon.
