Published on Dec. 8, 2025, 1:10 AM
We still have plenty of long, dark days ahead of us, but there’s a bright spot amid a sea of early sunsets
We’re quickly approaching the shortest days of the year across Canada as the winter solstice draws near.
But did you know that the earliest sunsets of the year are much closer than they seem?
DON’T MISS: Welcome to meteorological winter!
Solar time doesn’t follow our clocks
This year’s winter solstice occurs on Dec. 21, when the Sun’s direct rays reach their southernmost extent and folks in the northern hemisphere experience the shortest day of the year.
While the solstice comes in with the fewest hours of daylight, the year’s earliest sunsets can actually occur up to two-and-a-half weeks in advance of that momentous occasion.
For example, let’s head over to St. John’s, where the sunset will occur around 4:12 p.m. local time on the winter solstice. Even though that’s the shortest day of the year with about 8 hours and 58 minutes of daylight, the year’s earliest sunset actually occurs on Dec. 11, when the sun will dip below the horizon at 4:09 p.m.
If that’s the case, then why is the solstice the shortest day of the year? The sunrise gets later faster than the sunrise grows earlier, accounting for the shortened length of daylight.