With the arrival of the winter solstice comes both the shortest day and longest night of 2024.
As Americans adjust to colder weather, many have one question on their mind: when will it stop getting dark so soon?
Though the Earth’s tilt is responsible for the extra darkness on Saturday, bi-annual time changes are the work of humans. Daylight saving time, which is meant to bring more daylight in the winter mornings, is practiced in nearly every state in the U.S. with the exception of Hawaii and Arizona.
Daylight saving time ended last month, as we shifted clocks an hour backwards. And while the extra hour of sleep was appreciated on Nov. 3, many are counting down the days for the sun to set later at night.
Here’s what to know about the next winter solstice and the next national time shift, including efforts to dispel it permanently.
When is the winter solstice?
The 2024 winter solstice will occur in the Northern Hemisphere on Saturday, Dec. 21, at 4:20 AM EST. according to the National Weather Service.
It’s expected to be the shortest day and longest night of 2024 for the Northern Hemisphere, as that portion of Earth tilts away from the sun. Meanwhile the summer solstice will take place on June 20, 2025.
The Earth is tilted approximately 23.5 degrees on its axis, and each solstice is dictated by the amount of solar declination, or “the latitude of Earth where the sun is directly overhead at noon,” according to National Geographic.
When does daylight saving time start in 2025?
Daylight saving time is set to begin on Sunday, March 9, 2025.
What is daylight saving time?
Daylight saving time is the time between March and November when most Americans adjust their clocks ahead by one hour.
We gain an hour in November (as opposed to losing an hour in the spring) to make for more daylight in the winter mornings. When we “spring forward” in March, it’s to add more daylight in the evenings. In the Northern Hemisphere, the autumnal equinox is Sunday, Sept. 22, marking the start of the fall season.
Is daylight saving time ending?
In recent years, Congress has been faced with the opportunity to stop changing clocks. In 2022, the U.S. Senate unanimously approved the Sunshine Protection Act, which would make daylight saving time permanent, however the U.S. House of Representatives did not pass it and President Joe Biden did not sign it.
Earlier this month, President-elect Donald Trump said he aims to put an end to daylight saving time and make standard time year-round.
“The Republican Party will use its best efforts to eliminate Daylight Saving Time, which has a small but strong constituency, but shouldn’t!” Trump wrote on social media site Truth Social. “Daylight Saving Time is inconvenient, and very costly to our Nation.”
Contributing: Olivia Munson, Emily DeLetter, Joey Garrison and Jeanine Santucci
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: When does daylight savings time start in 2025? Dark days to fade soon
