The shortest day of the year, in terms of daylight, is December 21, the winter solstice. But the days will actually begin to feel a bit longer two weeks before the solstice. That's because the earliest sunset of the year happens before the solstice, and in 2021, it occurs on Tuesday, December 7.

What date does it start getting lighter?

The Spring equinox occurs on March 20 in 2021 - meaning there are equal amounts of daylight to nighttime. From this point, each day will be nearly four minutes longer than the day before. The evenings will get lighter until the summer solstice.

Are the days starting to get shorter?

After the summer solstice, the days start getting shorter – the length of daylight starts to decrease. ... The second solstice of the year, the winter solstice in the Northern Hemisphere is the day with the shortest period of daylight and will take place on Tuesday, December 21, 2021.