December solstice

The December solstice, also known as the southern solstice, happens every December, usually around December 21, but it can sometimes be a day earlier or later, depending on the Gregorian calendar. This special day marks a big change in how much sunlight different parts of the world get.

In the Northern Hemisphere, the December solstice is called the winter solstice. This is the day when people in places like North America and Europe get the least amount of sunlight all year. Meanwhile, in the Southern Hemisphere, which includes countries like Australia and South Africa, the same day is the summer solstice—the day with the most sunlight.

During the December solstice, the Sun is directly above a line called the Tropic of Capricorn. This line is located in the Southern Hemisphere, and it is one of two important lines on Earth that mark where the Sun can be directly overhead at certain times of the year. The December solstice helps us understand why seasons change and why some places have more daylight than others at different times of the year.

Solar year

The December-solstice solar year is the time between two December solstices.

From around 6000 BC to the year 2000, this time was between about 49 minutes and 50 minutes longer than 365 days and 5 hours. This is a bit longer than the average year in the Gregorian calendar. After the year 2000, this time has been getting shorter. In the year 4000, it will be about 48 minutes and 52 seconds longer, and in the year 10000, about 46 minutes and 45 seconds longer.

The length of the day near the December solstice

The following tables show how long the day is on December 22, close to the winter solstice in the Northern Hemisphere and the summer solstice in the Southern Hemisphere (also called the December solstice). The information comes from the Finnish Meteorological Institute and other websites from December 22, 2015.

The tables are arranged from the shortest day to the longest day. In December, daylight gets longer as you move toward the South Pole in the Southern Hemisphere, but shorter as you move toward the North Pole in the Northern Hemisphere.

The Nordic countries, Russia, and the Baltic states
City	Sunrise 21 Dec 2022	Sunset 21 Dec 2022	Length of the day
Murmansk	—	—	0 min
Apatity	—	—	0 min
Bodø	11:35	12:24	49 min
Rovaniemi	11:07	13:22	2 h 15 min
Luleå	9:54	13:03	3 h 9 min
Reykjavík	11:21	15:29	4 h 8 min
Trondheim	10:01	14:31	4 h 30 min
Tórshavn	9:50	14:59	5 h 9 min
Helsinki	9:23	15:12	5 h 49 min
Oslo	9:17	15:11	5 h 54 min
Tallinn	9:17	15:20	6 h 3 min
Stockholm	8:43	14:47	6 h 4 min
Riga	8:59	15:43	6 h 44 min
Copenhagen	8:36	15:38	7 h 2 min
Vilnius	8:39	15:53	7 h 14 min

Europe
City	Sunrise 22 Dec 2015	Sunset 22 Dec 2015	Length of the day
Saint Petersburg	10:00	15:53	5 h 53 min
Edinburgh	8:42	15:40	6 h 57 min
Moscow	8:57	15:58	7 h 00 min
Berlin	8:15	15:54	7 h 39 min
Warsaw	7:43	15:25	7 h 42 min
London	8:04	15:53	7 h 49 min
Kyiv	7:56	15:56	8 h 00 min
Paris	8:41	16:56	8 h 14 min
Vienna	7:42	16:03	8 h 20 min
Budapest	7:28	15:55	8 h 26 min
Rome	7:34	16:42	9 h 07 min
Istanbul	8:25	17:38	9 h 13 min
Madrid	8:34	17:51	9 h 17 min
Lisbon	7:51	17:18	9 h 27 min
Athens	7:37	17:09	9 h 31 min

Africa
City	Sunrise 22 Dec 2015	Sunset 22 Dec 2015	Length of the day
Cairo	6:47	16:59	10 h 12 min
Tenerife	7:53	18:13	10 h 19 min
Dakar	7:30	18:46	11 h 15 min
Addis Ababa	6:35	18:11	11 h 36 min
Nairobi	6:25	18:37	12 h 11 min
Kinshasa	5:45	18:08	12 h 22 min
Dar es Salaam	6:05	18:36	12 h 31 min
Luanda	5:46	18:24	12 h 38 min
Antananarivo	5:10	18:26	13 h 16 min
Windhoek	6:04	19:35	13 h 31 min
Johannesburg	5:12	18:59	13 h 47 min
Cape Town	5:32	19:57	14 h 25 min

Middle East
City	Sunrise 22 Dec 2015	Sunset 22 Dec 2015	Length of the day
Tehran	7:10	16:55	9 h 44 min
Beirut	6:39	16:33	9 h 54 min
Baghdad	7:02	16:59	9 h 57 min
Jerusalem	6:35	16:39	10 h 04 min
Manama	6:21	16:51	10 h 30 min
Doha	6:15	16:49	10 h 34 min
Dubai	7:00	17:34	10 h 34 min
Riyadh	6:32	17:10	10 h 37 min
Muscat	6:43	17:23	10 h 41 min
Sanaa	6:25	17:38	11 h 13 min

Americas
City	Sunrise 22 Dec 2015	Sunset 22 Dec 2015	Length of the day
Inuvik	—	—	0 h
Fairbanks	10:58	14:40	3 h 41 min
Nuuk	10:22	14:28	4 h 06 min
Anchorage	10:14	15:42	5 h 27 min
Edmonton	8:48	16:15	7 h 27 min
Vancouver	8:05	16:16	8 h 11 min
Seattle	7:55	16:20	8 h 25 min
Ottawa	7:39	16:22	8 h 42 min
Toronto	7:48	16:43	8 h 55 min
New York City	7:16	16:32	9 h 15 min
Washington, D.C.	7:23	16:49	9 h 26 min
Los Angeles	6:55	16:48	9 h 53 min
Dallas	7:25	17:25	9 h 59 min
Miami	7:03	17:35	10 h 31 min
Honolulu	7:04	17:55	10 h 50 min
Mexico City	7:06	18:03	10 h 57 min
Managua	6:01	17:26	11 h 24 min
Bogotá	5:59	17:50	11 h 51 min
Quito	6:08	18:16	12 h 08 min
Recife	5:00	17:35	12 h 35 min
Lima	5:41	18:31	12 h 50 min
La Paz	5:57	19:04	13 h 06 min
Rio de Janeiro	6:04	19:37	13 h 33 min
São Paulo	6:17	19:52	13 h 35 min
Salt Lake City	7:48	17:03	9 h 14 min
Porto Alegre	6:20	20:25	14 h 05 min
Santiago	6:29	20:52	14 h 22 min
Buenos Aires	5:37	20:06	14 h 28 min
Ushuaia	4:51	22:11	17 h 19 min

Asia-Pacific
City	Sunrise 22 Dec 2015	Sunset 22 Dec 2015	Length of the day
Magadan	8:54	14:55	6 h 00 min
Petropavlovsk	9:36	17:10	7 h 33 min
Khabarovsk	8:48	17:07	8 h 18 min
Ulaanbaatar	8:39	17:02	8 h 22 min
Vladivostok	8:40	17:40	8 h 59 min
Beijing	7:32	16:52	9 h 20 min
Seoul	7:44	17:17	9 h 34 min
Tokyo	6:47	16:31	9 h 44 min
Shanghai	6:48	16:55	10 h 07 min
Lhasa	8:46	19:01	10 h 14 min
Delhi	7:09	17:28	10 h 19 min
Hong Kong	6:58	17:44	10 h 46 min
Manila	6:16	17:32	11 h 15 min
Bangkok	6:36	17:55	11 h 19 min
Singapore	7:01	19:04	12 h 03 min
Jakarta	5:36	18:05	12 h 28 min
Denpasar	5:58	18:36	12 h 37 min
Darwin	6:19	19:10	12 h 51 min
Papeete	5:21	18:32	13 h 10 min
Brisbane	4:49	18:42	13 h 52 min
Perth	5:07	19:22	14 h 14 min
Sydney	5:41	20:05	14 h 24 min
Auckland	5:58	20:39	14 h 41 min
Melbourne	5:54	20:42	14 h 47 min
Dunedin	5:43	21:28	15 h 44 min
Invercargill	5:50	21:39	15 h 48 min