how much daylight are we gaining each day

Around late December in the Northern Hemisphere, we are typically gaining only a few seconds to about 1–2 minutes of daylight per day, depending on location and latitude. This increase speeds up into January and February, when many mid‑latitude locations gain closer to 2–3 minutes of daylight per day.

Key idea

• The amount of daylight gained each day is not constant; it changes with:
  • Your latitude (farther north = bigger swings in daylight length).

* The time of year (slow just after the solstice, faster toward spring).

Rough numbers after winter solstice

For many mid‑latitude spots in the U.S. and Europe (roughly 35–55°N):

• Just after winter solstice:
  • Gain is tiny: on the order of seconds per day, often under a minute.

• Early–mid January:
  • Often around 1–2 minutes of extra daylight per day on average.

• Late February:
  • Frequently closer to 3 minutes of extra daylight per day.

Example: mid‑U.S. city

Looking at a city like Kansas City near the end of December:

• Around Dec 26–31, total daylight increases by roughly 20–35 seconds per day, adding up to about 1–2 extra minutes of daylight over several days.

• This daily gain grows larger as the calendar moves into January and toward spring.

Why it feels slow

• The earliest sunset happens before the solstice and the latest sunrise happens after it, so “days getting longer” can feel delayed even though the total daylight is already increasing.

• Daylight gain is more noticeable a few weeks after the solstice, when the per‑day increase has ramped up.

TL;DR: Right now, you are probably gaining from under a minute up to around 2 minutes of daylight per day, with that number climbing toward 2–3 minutes per day by late winter, depending on where you live.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.