The winter solstice will take place around 9.20pm on Saturday, December 21, just four days before Christmas. It will be the shortest day of the year and the day when the sun is at its lowest point in the sky
As the nation is now in the throes of winter, it’s easy to feel a bit low during the long, dark nights. Since June, the days have been gradually shortening as the UK leans slightly further away from the sun. But there’s good news on the horizon – things will start to get lighter in the coming weeks. But, you might not notice much of a difference for a while yet. The winter solstice is set to occur around 9.20pm on Saturday, December 21, just four days before Christmas.
At this time, the northern hemisphere will be at its maximum tilt away from the sun, causing the sun to be at its lowest point in the sky. This means that December 21 will also be the shortest day of the year. The exact length of the day will vary depending on where you are in the UK. For instance, in Lerwick on Shetland, the day will last a mere five hours, 49 minutes and 11 seconds, with the sun setting at 2.57pm.
In Glasgow, the day will be over an hour longer, but even then, the period between sunrise at 8.45am and sunset at 3.44pm will only be six hours, 58 minutes and 47 seconds. In Manchester, daylight will last seven hours, 28 minutes and 26 seconds, while in London it will be seven hours, 49 minutes, 41 seconds, reports the Scottish Daily Express.
At Land’s End, daylight will last slightly more than eight hours (8:03:47), while at the opposite end of the UK, in John O’Groats, the day will be nearly two hours shorter, clocking in at six hours, 16 minutes, and 54 seconds. At Stonehenge, a site where hundreds congregate annually in a tradition tracing back to the Pagans and Druids, the sun is expected to rise around 8.10am and set again at 4.01pm.
The lengthening of days will commence immediately on the 22nd, although the initial difference will be just a few seconds and thus barely noticeable. By the New Year, days will have extended by approximately seven minutes, and by February, there will be over an hour and a half more daylight than at the solstice.
The clocks will spring forward on March 30, and the longest day of 2025 will fall on June 20.
