It’s getting dark later starting around the middle of winter as the days lengthen toward spring, but the exact date and time depend on your location and the time of year you’re asking about. Key points to know
- In the northern hemisphere, daylight hours begin to increase after the winter solstice (the shortest day), which for 2025 falls around December 21–22. After this point, sunsets occur later each day as days lengthen.
- The amount of delay after sunset varies with latitude and season. In many places, the trend toward later darkness begins in late December or January, with sunsets gradually pushing later as days grow longer toward the vernal equinox in March.
- If you want the precise “darkness starts later” timing for your exact location, you’ll want to check local sunrise/sunset and twilight data for your city or region. Twilight definitions affect when it’s considered truly dark: civil, nautical, and astronomical twilight each end at different sun elevations below the horizon, with astronomical darkness typically occurring after about 18° below the horizon.
Practical guidance
- To know when it starts getting dark later in your location, find:
- The date of the winter solstice for your hemisphere (around December 21–22 in the northern hemisphere for 2025).
* The local sunset times by date, then observe the trend in the following weeks; usually, after the solstice, sunsets begin to occur a few seconds to a few minutes later each day, depending on your latitude.
* If you care about when it becomes 'night' in the strictest sense (no astronomical twilight), use 18° below the horizon as the cutoff; this occurs later than civil or nautical dusk and will vary by location and date.
Direct answer
- The latest-starting-to-get-dark later occurs after the winter solstice, typically from late December into January in the northern hemisphere, with sunsets progressively later each day as days lengthen toward spring. For an exact date and time for your city, please share your location (city or coordinates), and I can give precise sunset and astronomical darkness timings.
