The earliest sunset comes before the winter solstice because of the equation of time: in December the Sun runs up to half a minute later each day by our clocks, so sunsets drift later before the days stop shortening. At 40° N the earliest sunset is about 8 December, the solstice 21 December and the latest sunrise about 5 January.
Key takeaways
- The December solstice, the shortest day in the Northern Hemisphere, falls on 21 December 2026 at 20:50 UTC (12:50 PM PST), per the US Naval Observatory.
- At 40° N the USNO puts the earliest sunset around 8 December and the latest sunrise around 5 January each year.
- At the equator the earliest sunset comes around 2 November (USNO); in Anchorage, only days before the solstice.
Why is the earliest sunset before the winter solstice?
Because our clocks do not keep Sun time. Clocks give every day exactly 24 hours, but in December the Sun returns to noon slightly late each day, so sunrise and sunset both slip later by the clock, according to the US Naval Observatory (USNO).
Two effects move sunset. As the Sun’s daily track shortens in autumn, sunsets come earlier; the USNO calls this the geometric effect. The clock effect, the equation of time, shifts sunrise, noon and sunset later by the same amount, and it grows from November. In the USNO’s example for 15 December at 40° N, shrinking daylight pulls sunset a quarter minute earlier while the clock effect pushes it half a minute later. So sunset is already getting later six days before the solstice. After the solstice the logic flips: the days lengthen too slowly at first to beat the late-running Sun, so sunrise keeps getting later until early January.
What causes the equation of time?
Earth’s tilt and its elliptical orbit. The USNO explains that the 23.4° axial tilt alone can put the Sun up to about 10 minutes ahead of or behind clock time, and the ellipse up to about 7.5 minutes more.
Earth reaches perihelion, its closest point to the Sun, on 3 January 2027 at 02:33 UTC (USNO). Moving fastest then, Earth must turn a little further each day to bring the Sun back to the meridian. In December the tilt and the orbit both lengthen the solar day, so the drift is at its fastest. Over a year sundial time and clock time can differ by up to 16 minutes.
When are the earliest sunset and latest sunrise in Encinitas?
In Encinitas, California (33.0° N, Pacific Standard Time), the Sun sets earliest on 3 and 4 December 2026, at 4:41:47 PM, and rises latest on 8 January 2027, at 6:53:12 AM. The shortest day is the solstice, 21 December 2026. Times come from the Owaves ephemeris; you can check them in NOAA’s Solar Calculator.
| Date (Encinitas, PST) | Sun rises | Sun at its highest | Sun sets | Daylight | Marks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 December 2026 | 6:34:32 AM | 11:38:00 AM | 4:41:53 PM | 10 h 7 m | Earliest-sunset week |
| 4 December 2026 | 6:37:02 AM | 11:39:10 AM | 4:41:47 PM | 10 h 4 m | Earliest sunset (tied with 3 December) |
| 21 December 2026 | 6:48:32 AM | 11:46:59 AM | 4:46:16 PM | 9 h 57 m | Solstice, shortest day |
| 8 January 2027 | 6:53:12 AM | 11:55:32 AM | 4:58:45 PM | 10 h 5 m | Latest sunrise |
From about 28 November to 9 December the Sun sets within 30 seconds of its earliest time. Between 1 December and 8 January, noon by the Sun moves about 17 minutes later, close to 30 seconds a day around the solstice.
How does latitude change the dates?
The closer to the equator, the further the earliest sunset and latest sunrise sit from the solstice; the USNO says the range is wider at lower latitudes and narrower at higher ones. Our ephemeris gives these dates for the 2026–27 winter (local standard time); the shortest day is 21 December everywhere.
| Place | Latitude | Earliest sunset | Latest sunrise |
|---|---|---|---|
| Singapore | 1.4° N | about 4–6 November | about 8–11 February |
| Honolulu | 21.3° N | 25–27 November | 16 January |
| Miami | 25.8° N | 29–30 November | 13 January |
| Encinitas | 33.0° N | 3–4 December | 8 January |
| New York City | 40.7° N | 8 December | 4 January |
| Seattle | 47.6° N | 10–11 December | 1 January |
| London | 51.5° N | 12 December | 30–31 December |
| Anchorage | 61.2° N | 16 December | 26 December |
This matches published figures: the USNO puts the equator’s earliest sunset around 2 November and latest sunrise around 11 February, and MPR News reported New York’s on 7 December 2024 and 3–4 January 2025. South of the equator it happens around the June solstice: MPR News gave Sydney’s earliest sunset as 11–12 June 2024.
How did sundials and clocks split apart?
Royal Museums Greenwich dates the earliest known sundial to Egypt at least 3,500 years ago and notes the Sun can run a quarter of an hour fast or slow against mean time.
Ptolemy tabulated the correction in the 2nd century. Good mechanical clocks agreed with sundials only near four dates a year. Christiaan Huygens published the first essentially correct equation-of-time tables in 1665, and John Flamsteed’s tables of 1672–73 appear to be the first to use mean time in the modern sense. Almanacs switched to mean time only in the early 19th century; Britain’s Nautical Almanac did so from its 1834 edition.
Railways then replaced local mean time with time zones, in the US starting with the Day of Two Noons in 1883. Zones add their own offset: Encinitas lies about 2.7° east of the 120° W meridian that sets Pacific time, so noon by the Sun comes about 11 minutes before 12 PM even when the equation of time is zero. For the deeper story, see why there are 24 hours in a day.
How do cultures mark the dark turn of the year?
Two traditions mark the solstice itself, not the earliest sunset:
- Yaldā/Chella (Iran and Afghanistan). UNESCO inscribed it as intangible cultural heritage in 2022. On the last night of autumn, families gather at elders’ homes around a lamp, water and red fruits such as pomegranates, and recite poetry, tell stories and play music.
- Newgrange (Ireland). Built more than 5,000 years ago, the passage tomb’s roofbox lets the rising Sun light its chamber for about 17 minutes on mornings around the winter solstice; archaeologist Michael J. O’Kelly confirmed the alignment on 21 December 1967.
Newgrange tracks where the Sun rises, furthest south at the solstice, not when: by the clock its latest sunrise is still more than a week off. For Sweden’s candlelit festival, see why St. Lucia Day is on 13 December; for China’s winter solar terms, see Lidong.
What does it mean for keeping time well?
Keep your wake time fixed and let the light find you there. Mornings keep darkening for two weeks after the solstice. Morning light advances the body clock and evening light delays it, according to a 2019 review by Christine Blume, Corrado Garbazza and Manuel Spitschan in Somnologie, which puts full daylight at about 25,000 lux against about 500 lux for office lighting.
Early sunsets mean long evenings under electric light, so dim the lights after dinner to protect a regular bedtime; see does electric light make us sleep later?, should you sleep more in winter? and how to fix your sleep schedule.
Your day on My BodyClock
The day above is an early-December weekday in Encinitas. Sleep runs 10 PM to 6:30 AM, and the wake time holds whether the Sun is up or not. A walk at first light precedes breakfast, lunch ends with a walk in the low midday sun, and a walk at sundown closes the workday. Evenings stay warm and dim: dinner, a game, then reading under low lamps.
Build your own winter day in Owaves: take the Body Clock Type quiz, download Owaves on the App Store, or join the Android waitlist.
FAQ
Is the winter solstice the shortest day of the year?
Yes. In the Northern Hemisphere the December solstice, 21 December 2026, has the least daylight. It is not the day of the earliest sunset or latest sunrise, because Sun time and clock time drift apart in December.
When do the evenings start getting lighter?
Right after the earliest sunset: about 8 December at 40° N, per the USNO, and early December in southern California. Sunsets get later by seconds a day at first, then faster through January.
Does the same thing happen in summer?
Yes, more mildly. The USNO says that at 40° N the earliest sunrise comes around 14 June and the latest sunset around 28 June.
Sources
- US Naval Observatory. Sunrise and Sunset Times Near the Solstices. https://aa.usno.navy.mil/faq/rs_solstices
- US Naval Observatory. The Equation of Time. https://aa.usno.navy.mil/faq/eqtime
- US Naval Observatory. Earth’s Seasons and Apsides. https://aa.usno.navy.mil/data/Earth_Seasons
- Paul Huttner. Later sunsets begin this week in Minnesota. MPR News, 10 December 2024. https://mprnews.org/story/2024/12/10/later-sunsets-begin-this-week-in-minnesota
- Royal Museums Greenwich. Sundials. https://www.rmg.co.uk/stories/time/sundials
- Wikipedia. Equation of time. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equation_of_time
- UNESCO. Yaldā/Chella (2022). https://ich.unesco.org/en/RL/yalda-chella-01877
- Wikipedia. Newgrange. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newgrange
- World Heritage Ireland. Brú na Bóinne: historical background. https://www.worldheritageireland.ie/world-heritage-properties/bru-na-boinne/historical-background/
- Ronan McGreevy. As it happened: Watch the winter solstice at Newgrange. The Irish Times, 20 December 2024. https://www.irishtimes.com/ireland/2024/12/20/winter-solstice-what-is-it-and-why-is-newgrange-so-important
- Blume C, Garbazza C, Spitschan M. Effects of light on human circadian rhythms, sleep and mood. Somnologie, 2019. doi:10.1007/s11818-019-00215-x. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6751071/
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