When does winter start 2026? First day of winter and solstice

Winter 2026 starts in the Northern Hemisphere on Monday, December 21, 2026, at 3:50 p.m. EST (20:50 UTC), the exact moment of the December solstice. That is 12:50 p.m. in California, 8:50 p.m. in London and early on December 22 in Australia, where the same instant marks the first day of summer. Astronomical winter then lasts until the March equinox on Saturday, March 20, 2027.

Meteorologists count it differently: for the National Weather Service, the Met Office and most weather agencies, winter 2026–2027 begins on December 1. Both dates are correct; they simply measure different things.

Key takeaways

• The winter solstice 2026 falls on Monday, December 21, 2026, at 20:50 UTC: 3:50 p.m. EST, 2:50 p.m. CST, 1:50 p.m. MST and 12:50 p.m. PST.
• Astronomical winter ends with the March equinox on Saturday, March 20, 2027, at about 20:24 UTC (4:24 p.m. EDT), after roughly 89 days.
• Meteorological winter runs from December 1, 2026, to February 28, 2027, and is the season weather services use for statistics.
• December 21 is the shortest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere: about 9 hours 15 minutes of daylight in New York and 7 hours 50 minutes in London.
• In Australia winter starts on June 1 by the calendar the Bureau of Meteorology uses; the June solstice comes on June 21–22, 2027.

When does winter start 2026 in the USA?

In the United States, winter 2026 starts on Monday, December 21, 2026, at the moment of the solstice, which happens at the same instant everywhere but at a different clock time in each time zone. Daylight saving time ended on November 1, 2026, so every zone is on standard time.

Time zone	Example cities	Solstice time, December 21, 2026
Eastern (EST)	New York, Miami, Atlanta	3:50 p.m.
Central (CST)	Chicago, Houston, Dallas	2:50 p.m.
Mountain (MST)	Denver, Phoenix	1:50 p.m.
Pacific (PST)	Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle	12:50 p.m.
Alaska (AKST)	Anchorage, Fairbanks	11:50 a.m.
Hawaii (HST)	Honolulu	10:50 a.m.

So winter starts on December 21 in Texas, Florida, California and Arizona alike. What changes is the weather. Winter in South Florida or southern Arizona is mild, while the northern Plains and Alaska can already be deep in snow and severe cold by early December. North of the Arctic Circle in Alaska, the sun does not rise at all around the solstice.

Times come from the Paris Observatory's IMCCE and the U.S. Naval Observatory; some sources differ by a minute through rounding.

What time is the winter solstice 2026 around the world?

The winter solstice 2026 takes place at 20:50 UTC on December 21, which falls on December 22 for most of Asia and Oceania. In the Southern Hemisphere, the same instant is the summer solstice.

Place	Local time of the solstice	Date
London, Dublin (GMT)	8:50 p.m.	Mon, Dec 21
Madrid, Paris (CET)	9:50 p.m.	Mon, Dec 21
Toronto, Ontario (EST)	3:50 p.m.	Mon, Dec 21
Mexico City	2:50 p.m.	Mon, Dec 21
Buenos Aires	5:50 p.m.	Mon, Dec 21
India (IST)	2:20 a.m.	Tue, Dec 22
Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong	4:50 a.m.	Tue, Dec 22
Sydney, Melbourne (AEDT)	7:50 a.m.	Tue, Dec 22
Brisbane (AEST)	6:50 a.m.	Tue, Dec 22
Perth (AWST)	4:50 a.m.	Tue, Dec 22

In the UK, the first day of winter 2026 in the astronomical sense is therefore Monday, December 21, with the solstice arriving in the evening. For India, the date is December 22, although the India Meteorological Department uses its own seasons, with winter covering January and February.

Is the first day of winter December 1 or December 21?

Both: December 21 is the start of astronomical winter, defined by the solstice, while December 1 is the start of meteorological winter, which groups the three coldest calendar months of December, January and February.

• Astronomical winter 2026–2027: December 21, 2026, to March 20, 2027. This is the date on calendars and in the news.
• Meteorological winter 2026–2027: December 1, 2026, to February 28, 2027. NOAA, the Met Office, the World Meteorological Organization and most national weather services use it because whole months make it easy to compare one winter with another.

The Met Office states that meteorological winter always starts on December 1 and ends on February 28, or 29 in a leap year. That is why winter climate summaries appear in early March, before the equinox. In practice, frost and cold snaps often arrive weeks before either date; see our guide to frost and black ice.

When does winter start and end?

Winter 2026–2027 starts on December 21, 2026, at 3:50 p.m. EST and ends on March 20, 2027, at about 4:24 p.m. EDT, when the spring equinox arrives. That makes it about 89 days long, the shortest astronomical season of the Northern Hemisphere.

It is the shortest because Earth passes perihelion, its closest point to the Sun, in early January and moves fastest along its orbit during these months. Summer, by contrast, lasts about 93 days.

Daylight saving time is unrelated to the seasons: US clocks spring forward on Sunday, March 14, 2027, and British Summer Time begins on Sunday, March 28, 2027.

The solstice date is not fixed: it usually falls on December 21 or 22 because the calendar year and Earth's orbit do not line up exactly, which leap years correct. In 2027 the solstice comes at 02:42 UTC on December 22, which is still December 21 (9:42 p.m. EST) in the eastern US.

Winter solstice 2026 daylight hours: the shortest day of the year

December 21, 2026, is the shortest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere, with the least time between sunrise and sunset. How short it is depends on latitude:

• New York: about 9 hours 15 minutes of daylight.
• Madrid: about 9 hours 17 minutes.
• London: about 7 hours 50 minutes.

The earliest sunset of the year does not happen on the solstice but in early December, and the latest sunrise arrives in early January. This offset comes from the equation of time, the gap between clock time and the Sun's real position caused by Earth's elliptical orbit and tilted axis.

From December 22 the days lengthen again, by seconds at first and by more than two minutes a day by March.

When does winter start in Australia and the Southern Hemisphere?

In Australia, winter starts on June 1, because the Bureau of Meteorology groups the seasons by calendar months, with winter running from June to August. Astronomical winter begins with the June solstice, at 14:10 UTC on Monday, June 21, 2027.

That moment is 12:10 a.m. on Tuesday, June 22, in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, and 10:10 p.m. on June 21 in Perth. So, for the first day of winter 2026 in the Southern Hemisphere: it already happened, on June 1 (meteorological) or June 21, 2026 (astronomical). On December 21–22, 2026, Sydney, Buenos Aires and Santiago are starting summer, with their longest days of the year. In Buenos Aires the sun stays above the horizon for about 14 and a half hours.

Seasons 2026–2027: dates and times

These are the start dates of the seasons from fall 2026 to winter 2027, in US Eastern time and UTC. Seasons are reversed in the Southern Hemisphere.

Northern Hemisphere	Southern Hemisphere	Date (Eastern time)	Eastern time	UTC
Fall 2026	Spring 2026	Tue, September 22, 2026	8:05 p.m. EDT	00:05, Sep 23
Winter 2026	Summer 2026	Mon, December 21, 2026	3:50 p.m. EST	20:50
Spring 2027	Fall 2027	Sat, March 20, 2027	4:24 p.m. EDT	20:24
Summer 2027	Winter 2027	Mon, June 21, 2027	10:10 a.m. EDT	14:10
Fall 2027	Spring 2027	Thu, September 23, 2027	2:01 a.m. EDT	06:01
Winter 2027	Summer 2027	Tue, December 21, 2027	9:42 p.m. EST	02:42, Dec 22

How to follow winter weather on Clima de Hoy

Clima de Hoy shows hourly, 7 day and 14 day forecasts for 162,000 places, which helps when you plan holiday travel around the solstice. Check the 14 day forecast for New York for the trend over the next two weeks, or the hourly forecast for London on a frosty morning.

If you are escaping to the southern summer, look at the weather in Buenos Aires. Before trusting a forecast for Christmas Day, read how accurate long-range forecasts are, and when the first cold snap hits, review how to stay warm in cold weather.

Frequently asked questions

What day does winter start in 2026?

Winter 2026 starts on Monday, December 21, 2026, with the December solstice at 20:50 UTC. That is 3:50 p.m. EST, 12:50 p.m. PST and 8:50 p.m. in the UK. In Australia and New Zealand the clock already reads December 22.

When does winter end in 2027?

Astronomical winter ends on Saturday, March 20, 2027, at about 4:24 p.m. EDT (20:24 UTC), with the spring equinox. Meteorological winter ends earlier, on February 28, 2027.

Why do some people say winter starts on December 1?

Because weather services use meteorological winter, which groups the three full coldest months of the Northern Hemisphere: December, January and February. Whole months make climate statistics easier to compare from year to year. The astronomical winter on calendars begins with the solstice.

When does winter start in the UK in 2026?

In the UK, astronomical winter starts on Monday, December 21, 2026, at 8:50 p.m. GMT. The Met Office counts meteorological winter from December 1, 2026, to February 28, 2027.

Is December 21 the shortest day of the year?

Yes, in the Northern Hemisphere December 21, 2026, has the fewest hours of daylight: about 9 hours 15 minutes in New York and 7 hours 50 minutes in London. In the Southern Hemisphere it is the longest day of the year.