when does the sun start setting later
The sun starts setting later in the year just before or around the winter solstice, but the exact date depends on where you live and which hemisphere you’re in.
Key idea in one line
In most of the Northern Hemisphere, sunsets stop getting earlier in early–mid December and begin getting later a few days before the winter solstice (around 21 December), even though the shortest day is still on the solstice.
Why it’s a bit confusing
- The shortest day (least daylight) is on the winter solstice, around 21 December in the Northern Hemisphere.
- The earliest sunset usually happens about one to two weeks before the solstice, often in late November or early December depending on latitude.
- That means:
- Sunsets start getting later again in early–mid December.
- At the same time, sunrises keep getting later until roughly late December or early January, so total daylight is still shrinking, then slowly starts to grow.
An example from around 40°N latitude (roughly the central U.S. or southern Europe):
- Earliest sunset: first half of December.
- “Turning point” when sunsets begin getting later: around 10–15 December.
- Winter solstice (shortest day): about 21 December.
What about after summer?
If you’re thinking in reverse—“when does the sun start setting earlier again?”—that shift happens just after the summer solstice (around 21 June):
- Days start getting shorter immediately after the summer solstice, but depending on location, the very latest sunset can lag a few days into late June or early July.
So, in a simple, yearly story for the Northern Hemisphere:
- After the summer solstice (June), sunsets slowly start getting earlier.
- By late autumn, the days are much shorter.
- In early December , sunsets reach their earliest time, then begin getting later again.
- Around 21 December , you hit the shortest day, but by then evenings are already very slowly stretching out.
Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.