Edinburgh daylight, 2026
- Shortest day6h 58m
- Longest day17h 37m
- Fastest gain+4.7 min/day
- Fastest loss−4.6 min/day
As we move into the new year, I got curious about how much daylight we gain each day and asked ChatGPT about it. The numbers it gave me turned out to be wrong, so I’ve since worked them out properly from sunrise and sunset times. Here’s how fast daylight changes in Edinburgh through 2026, both ways, with London and Lerwick alongside to show how much it varies across the UK.
The short version: Edinburgh gains or loses up to 4.7 minutes of daylight a day. The change is fastest around the equinoxes in March and September, and slows to almost nothing around the longest and shortest days. London swings less and Shetland swings more.
Gaining Light: December to June
From the shortest day to the longest, Edinburgh gains 10 hours 39 minutes of daylight. On 8 January it gets 7 hours 19 minutes, and by 8 June that’s up to 17 hours 26 minutes, an average of about 4 minutes a day. The rate isn’t steady though.
January
About 1.5 minutes a day at New Year, rising to 4 minutes a day by the end of the month. For the first few days after the winter solstice the gain is only seconds, then it builds quickly through January.
February to April
Between 4 and 4.7 minutes a day, roughly half an hour more each week. This is the fast stretch. It peaks at about 4.7 minutes a day around the spring equinox (20 March), when day and night are nearly equal and the Sun’s position is shifting north at its quickest. The clocks go forward on 29 March, which moves an hour of light into the evening without adding any.
May and June
Over 4 minutes a day at the start of May, around 3 in late May and under 2 by 8 June. By then we’re already enjoying long days, and the gains shrink to nothing at the summer solstice on Sunday 21 June, when Edinburgh gets 17 hours 37 minutes of daylight.
It’s interesting to know about the increase then decrease. I’m sure all this would fit within the flat earth model?
Losing Light: July to December
The second half of the year runs the same pattern in reverse. From the longest day to the shortest, Edinburgh loses the same 10 hours 39 minutes, about 3.5 minutes a day on average.
July and August
About 1 minute a day at the start of July, nearly 4 by the end of the month, and over 4 minutes a day from early August.
September and October
About 4.6 minutes a day, the fastest the days get shorter all year. The peak comes around the autumn equinox on Wednesday 23 September, and Edinburgh keeps losing more than 4 minutes a day from early August to early November, over half an hour a week. The clocks go back on 25 October, which makes the evenings feel suddenly darker, but the daylight itself keeps shrinking at the same steady rate either side of it.
November and December
Down from over 4 minutes a day in early November to about 2.6 by 1 December, then to zero at the winter solstice on Monday 21 December, when Edinburgh gets 6 hours 58 minutes of daylight.
The earliest sunset doesn’t land on the shortest day though. In Edinburgh it comes around 14 December at 3:38pm, and by the solstice the sunsets are already getting later. Mornings lag the other way, with sunrise getting later until around New Year (8:44am). So the evenings start getting lighter about a week before the shortest day, and the mornings not until early January.
Scotland vs London
Edinburgh gets 52 minutes less daylight than London on the shortest day and about an hour more on the longest. The further north you are, the bigger the swing both ways, and the two cities draw level around each equinox.
| Date | Edinburgh | Change (min/day) | London | Change (min/day) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Jan | 7h 06m | +1.4 | 7h 56m | +1.1 |
| 1 Feb | 8h 39m | +4.0 | 9h 11m | +3.3 |
| 1 Mar | 10h 43m | +4.6 | 10h 55m | +3.9 |
| 1 Apr | 13h 07m | +4.7 | 12h 58m | +3.9 |
| 1 May | 15h 23m | +4.3 | 14h 51m | +3.5 |
| 1 Jun | 17h 12m | +2.4 | 16h 19m | +1.9 |
| 1 Jul | 17h 30m | −1.2 | 16h 33m | −1.0 |
| 1 Aug | 16h 03m | −3.8 | 15h 24m | −3.1 |
| 1 Sep | 13h 50m | −4.5 | 13h 34m | −3.8 |
| 1 Oct | 11h 33m | −4.6 | 11h 37m | −3.9 |
| 1 Nov | 9h 13m | −4.3 | 9h 40m | −3.6 |
| 1 Dec | 7h 25m | −2.6 | 8h 11m | −2.1 |
Up in Lerwick on Shetland it’s more extreme again, from 5 hours 49 minutes on the shortest day to 18 hours 56 minutes on the longest, gaining up to 5.5 minutes a day in March and losing up to 5.4 in September.
Quick Answers
How Fast Do the Days Get Longer?
Up to 4.7 minutes a day in Edinburgh and 4 minutes a day in London, around the spring equinox in late March. Between early January and early June it averages about 4 minutes a day in Edinburgh and 3.3 in London.
How Fast Do the Days Get Shorter?
Up to 4.6 minutes a day in Edinburgh, 3.9 in London and 5.4 in Lerwick, around the autumn equinox in late September. Edinburgh loses more than half an hour a week from early August to early November.
When Do the Nights Start Getting Lighter?
Evenings first. Sunset starts getting later around 14 December in Edinburgh (12 December in London), a week before the shortest day. The days themselves start getting longer right after the winter solstice, by seconds at first and about 1.5 minutes a day by New Year. Mornings don’t start getting lighter until early January.
When Is the Shortest Day in 2026?
Monday 21 December 2026, with the solstice at 8:50pm. Edinburgh gets 6 hours 58 minutes of daylight, London 7 hours 50 minutes and Lerwick 5 hours 49 minutes. The longest day was Sunday 21 June.
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