Winter is here and with it comes more sunlight. The temperatures may be getting colder but beginning tomorrow Philadelphia, as well as the entire Northern Hemisphere, will see later sunset times. December 21st, 2024 is the day of this year’s winter solstice, the darkest day of the year. Alas, the days will be getting longer with more sunlight added in.
What Is The Winter Solstice?
The winter solstice occurs when the Northern Hemisphere is tilted the furthest away from the sun, bringing forth both the shortest day and longest night of the year in terms of direct sunlight. Although there are 24 hours a day, December 21st, is the shortest day of the year. According to NASA, all locations north of the equator see daylight shorter than 12 hours and all locations south see daylight longer than 12 hours
This year winter solstice will occur December 21st, 2024 at 04:21 a.m. ET. On Thursday, most parts of the country will have only about eight or nine hours of daylight.
According to NASA, solstices are a bi-annual occurrence when the sun’s path appears farthest north or south, depending on which half of the planet you’re on.
Comparatively, we have the opposite during the summer solstice, which occurs in June. During this time we’ll experience the most sunlight during the day and the “shortest” night.
Expect A Later Sunset
Following the winter solstice, Philadelphians can look on the bright side…literally. With each passing day, sunsets will occur later and the days will slowly begin to feel longer.
Until the summer solstice on June, 20, 2025, each day the Northern Hemisphere can expect later sunsets and more sunlight eventually.
In the meantime, there’s plenty of fun wintertime activities to check out in Philadelphia to embrace the new solstice. You can check the sunrise and sunset times in Philadelphia by visiting Time and Date here.