It starts getting lighter earlier in the mornings shortly after the winter solstice, but the effect is small at first and becomes noticeable through January and into February in most places.

Key idea

  • Around the winter solstice (around December 21 in the northern hemisphere), you have the shortest day and longest night.
  • After that date, total daylight increases a little bit each day, even if mornings still feel dark for a while.

Why mornings feel slow to improve

  • In many midā€‘latitude locations, sunsets start getting later a week or so before the winter solstice, so evenings feel lighter first.
  • Sunrises often keep getting later until very late December or early January, so mornings can actually keep getting darker for a couple of weeks even though the total day length is already growing.

Rough timing (northern hemisphere)

Exact dates depend on your latitude and city, but a typical pattern is:

  • Late December: Days stop shrinking; sunsets start getting later.
  • Early January: Sunrises reach their latest and then very slowly start getting earlier.
  • Late January into February: The ā€œgetting lighter earlierā€ feeling in the morning becomes clearly noticeable for most people, as both sunrise and sunset shift and each day gains 2ā€“3 minutes of light or more.

How to check for your location

To know precisely when it will start getting lighter earlier where you live:

  • Look up a sunrise/sunset calendar for your specific city and year; these tools show daily times and how much extra daylight you gain each day.
  • Watch for the first day when the listed sunrise time stops getting later and starts getting earlier; from then on, your mornings are officially getting lighter earlier.

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