The shortest day of the year is the winter solstice, which happens once each December in the Northern Hemisphere and once each June in the Southern Hemisphere.

Northern Hemisphere

  • The shortest day is around December 21 or 22 each year.
  • In 2025 specifically, the shortest day falls on Sunday, 21 December.

Southern Hemisphere

  • South of the equator, the shortest day is around June 20 or 21.
  • That June solstice is their start of winter, with the fewest daylight hours of the year.

What “shortest day” means

  • “Shortest day” means the day with the least daylight and the longest night, not a shorter 24‑hour period.
  • It occurs when Earth’s axis is tilted farthest away from the Sun for your hemisphere, so the Sun follows its lowest, shortest path across the sky.

TL;DR:

  • Northern Hemisphere: around December 21–22 (Dec 21, 2025).
  • Southern Hemisphere: around June 20–21.

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