The winter solstice 2025 arrives today, marking the shortest day and longest night of the year across the Northern Hemisphere. This astronomical event signals the official beginning of winter.
During the winter solstice, the sun reaches its lowest apparent position in the sky as seen from Earth. At solar noon, it appears directly above the Tropic of Capricorn at 23.5 degrees south latitude.
This alignment results in the least amount of daylight for the Northern Hemisphere. The planet’s axial tilt places the region at its farthest lean away from the sun.
The exact moment of the winter solstice 2025 occurs today at 10:03 a.m. EST, or 1503 GMT. This precise instant officially ushers in the new winter season.
As the sun tracks lower along the horizon, sunlight strikes Earth at a shallow angle. The energy spreads across a wider surface area, reducing overall heating.
This lower solar angle, rather than Earth’s distance from the sun, is the primary reason winter temperatures drop. From this point onward, daylight will begin to increase gradually each day.
Earth experiences seasons due to its 23.5-degree axial tilt. As the planet orbits the sun, different hemispheres receive varying sunlight intensity and duration.
When the Northern Hemisphere tilts toward the sun, summer occurs. When it tilts away, as it does now, winter takes hold.
While the Northern Hemisphere enters winter, the Southern Hemisphere experiences the opposite effect. Today also marks the summer solstice there, bringing the longest day of the year.
A common misconception links winter to Earth being farther from the sun. In reality, Earth will reach perihelion, its closest point to the sun, on January 3, 2026.
At that time, Earth will be approximately 91.4 million miles, or 147.1 million kilometers, from the sun. This distance is closer than the planet’s average orbital position.
Across many cultures, the winter solstice symbolizes renewal and the return of light. Beginning tomorrow, longer days serve as a reminder that warmer seasons will eventually return.
