Overview
- The solstice occurs on Sunday, Dec. 21, 2025, at 15:03 GMT, which is 10:03 a.m. Eastern and 9:03 a.m. Central in the U.S. and Mexico, according to Star Walk and local conversions.
- Daylight impact varies by location, with FOX Weather estimating 3–4 hours less daylight in Miami, Houston, Atlanta and Los Angeles, about six hours in New York and Chicago, and roughly seven hours in Minneapolis, Portland and Seattle.
- For Dallas, Time and Date projects 9 hours, 59 minutes and 30 seconds of sunlight on Dec. 21, with sunrise at 7:25 a.m. and sunset at 5:25 p.m.
- The event happens because Earth’s axis is tilted, directing the most direct sunlight over the Tropic of Capricorn and bringing summer to the Southern Hemisphere.
- The exact date and time shift slightly year to year because the tropical year is about 365 days, 5 hours and 49 minutes, with leap years used to keep the calendar aligned.