The morning air is crisper, the puffer jackets are out to play and ramen cravings are in full swing – yep, it’s winter. On June 21, Australia will experience its annual winter solstice – aka the shortest day of the year – meaning our days will soon start getting longer. We're calling it: it’s all uphill from here.
What is Australia’s winter solstice?
Caused by the Earth’s annual orbit around the sun, the winter solstice is the shortest day and longest night of the year – occurring in Australia when the South Pole has its maximum tilt away from the sun. This astronomical event happens on the very same day every year – though at opposite times of year for the two different hemispheres. As Australians experience the shortest day of the year, our friends in the Northern Hemisphere celebrate their summer solstice with the longest day of the year, and vice versa.
What causes Australia's winter solstice?
The solstice is caused by the tilt of the Earth’s axis in relation to the sun. During the winter solstice in the Southern Hemisphere, the tilt is such that the sun follows its lowest and shortest path through the sky, resulting in the least amount of daylight and the longest night of the year.
When is the winter solstice in Australia?
The winter solstice in Australia falls on June 21 every year. Here are the estimated daylight hours for each Australian capital city on the shortest day of the year:
- Adelaide: 7.23am – 5.11pm (9 hrs 48 mins)
- Brisbane: 6.37am – 5.01pm (10 hrs 24 mins)
- Canberra: 7.12am – 4.58pm (9 hrs 46 mins)
- Darwin: 7.06am – 6.30pm (11 hrs 24 mins)
- Hobart: 7.42am – 4.42pm (9 hrs)
- Melbourne: 7.35am – 5.08pm (9 hrs 33 mins)
- Perth: 7.16am – 5.20pm (10 hrs, 4 mins)
- Sydney: 7am – 4.53pm (9 hrs 53 mins)
You can find your city’s daylight hours here.
What does the solstice mean?
As well as being something of a turning point on the calendar of sunshine-seekers, the solstice has cultural significance for many – with festivals held across the world on these landmark days. After the winter solstice, days begin to lengthen as the Earth continues its annual orbit around the sun – taking us to the equinox (when the hours of sunlight and darkness are equal, occurring in late September and late March every year) and then the summer solstice (the summer solstice in Australia falls on December 21).
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