Daylight Gained

Daylight Gained › London

How much daylight has London gained since the solstice?

London's shortest day this winter is Monday, December 21, with 7 hours, 50 minutes of daylight. That is 52 minutes more than Edinburgh gets on its shortest day. By January 31 it has gained 1 hour, 17 minutes.

Hours of daylight over 12 months
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DateDaylightSunriseSunset
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London daylight dates, winter 2026–27

Earliest sunsetSaturday, December 12, 3:51 pm
Shortest dayMonday, December 21, 7 h 50 min (sunrise 8:04 am, sunset 3:53 pm)
Latest sunriseWednesday, December 30, 8:06 am
First sunset after 4 pmThursday, December 31 (4:01 pm)
8 hours of daylightTuesday, January 5
9 hours of daylightFriday, January 29
10 hours of daylightMonday, February 15
11 hours of daylightWednesday, March 3
Longest dayMonday, June 21, 16 h 39 min

The December solstice is at 8:50 pm on December 21, London time.

Daylight gained in London, by date

DateSince solsticeDaylightThat daySunriseSunset
Jan 1+6 min 5 sec7 h 56 min+1 min 5 sec8:06 am4:02 pm
Jan 15+31 min8 h 21 min+2 min 21 sec8:00 am4:20 pm
Feb 1+1 h 21 min9 h 10 min+3 min 19 sec7:39 am4:50 pm
Feb 15+2 h 11 min10 h 00 min+3 min 44 sec7:15 am5:15 pm
Mar 1+3 h 04 min10 h 54 min+3 min 55 sec6:46 am5:40 pm
Mar 15+4 h 00 min11 h 49 min+3 min 58 sec6:15 am6:05 pm
Apr 1+5 h 07 min12 h 57 min+3 min 57 sec6:37 am7:33 pm

London: questions people ask

Does London get more winter daylight than Edinburgh?

Yes. London's shortest day is 7 h 50 min, 52 minutes longer than Edinburgh's (6 h 58 min). Summer is the other way round: on the longest day London gets 16 h 39 min, 58 minutes less than Edinburgh.

When is the earliest sunset in London?

December 12, 2026, at 3:51 pm. That is 9 days before the shortest day, because solar noon drifts later through December. The evenings are already a little lighter by the solstice.

When does London gain daylight fastest?

Around the March equinox, when it gains 3 minutes, 59 seconds a day (fastest on March 19). Right after the solstice the gain is small: 1 minute, 5 seconds a day on January 1, and 3 minutes, 19 seconds a day by February 1.

When do the mornings start getting lighter in London?

Not until after the latest sunrise, 8:06 am on Wednesday, December 30, 9 days after the shortest day. Mornings then brighten slowly: on February 1 the sun rises at 7:39 am.

Shortest day in nearby cities

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Sun times use NOAA's solar equations, checked against U.S. Naval Observatory tables. City data from GeoNames (CC BY 4.0).