The shortest day of the year at Poppit Sands, near St Dogmael's, West Wales.
The winter solstice occurs in December, and in the northern hemisphere the date marks the 24-hour period with the fewest daylight hours of the year. That is why it is known as the shortest day of the year, or the longest night of the year.
Since the Earth is tilted on its axis, the arc the Sun moves through during the day will rise and fall across the year as the Earth’s pole points either towards or away from the Sun.
The winter solstice occurs at the minimum point for the northern hemisphere, when the Sun is lowest in the sky.
At this time, the Earth's North Pole is pointing away from the Sun (which is why it is so much colder in the northern hemisphere). For people living in the southern hemisphere, the South Pole is pointing towards the Sun, making it summertime 'Down Under'.
The actual moment of the solstice in 2022 will occur at 9.48pm GMT in the UK, but most people concentrate on the whole solstice day, which has been recognised by holidays and festivals in many cultures all over the world.
The shortest day lasts 7 hours 49 minutes and 42 seconds in London. This means that the length of day during the winter solstice is 8 hours, 49 minutes shorter than the summer solstice.
The world 'solstice' comes from the Latin solstitium meaning 'Sun stands still', because the apparent movement of the Sun's path north or south stops before changing direction. At the winter solstice, the apparent position of the Sun reaches its most southerly point against the background stars.
