While the winter solstice is still more than a week away, you can take solace in knowing the sun will begin setting later in the evening for most of the Northern Hemisphere.
For example, Tuesday’s sunset in Los Angeles is at 4:44 p.m. On Wednesday, it will be 4:45 p.m. By the winter solstice on Dec. 21, the sun will set in Los Angeles at 4:48 p.m. By year’s end, the city will see a 4:55 p.m. sunset.
The amount of time gained each day varies based on a location’s latitude.
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Northern towns generally will not gain as much evening sunlight between now and the solstice. For instance, in Bismarck, North Dakota, sunset on the solstice will be just two minutes later than Tuesday’s.
Once January arrives, these towns gain sunlight more quickly.
Bismarck will start the year with a 5:05 p.m. sunset and end January with a 5:46 p.m. sunset. While Bismarck gains 41 minutes of evening sun in January, Los Angeles gains just 28 minutes.
So why does the sun start setting later before the solstice?
Although sunsets will get later until the end of June, sunrise times will also continue to get later through roughly Jan. 1. That means the shortest day of the year for most Americans remains Dec. 21, when the solstice occurs.
In Los Angeles, Tuesday’s sunrise was at 6:48 a.m. By the solstice, it will be at 6:56 a.m., and by Dec. 31 the sun will rise at 6:59 a.m.
Bismarck is set to lose about 11 minutes of morning sun between now and the end of the year.
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Why does this happen?
Earth’s orbit around the sun is not perfectly round, and the planet is sometimes slightly closer to the sun. In January, Earth is about 3 million miles closer to the sun than in July. This subtle difference is enough to change sunrise and sunset times.
Because of Earth’s shifting distance from the sun, the time it takes for the sun to reach the same point in the sky gets later each day through December. What is considered “solar noon” also shifts later during the month.
You can check sunrise and sunset times on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration website.
