How much will daylight increase every day after the winter solstice on December 21?

The winter solstice is here, meaning the shortest day of the year will soon pass. This is when the Northern Hemisphere experiences the least amount of daylight for the year and usually falls on 21 or 22 December and then the long march to sumemr begins.

The rate at which daylight increases after the winter solstice on December 21 varies depending on your location. This change in day length is more noticeable at higher latitudes: near the equator, the change in day length is minimal throughout the year. As you move toward higher latitudes, such as in the North Pole, the change in day length becomes more pronounced.

For example, in the northernmost parts of the continental US, such as Alaska, the change in day length after the winter solstice is slightly more signifcant compared to Florida.

Around the latitude of New York City or Chicago you can expect the daylight to increase by a few minutes each day after the winter solstice. This rate of increase gradually accelerates as you approach the spring equinox.

An example: California

On the winter solstice, 21 December, the length of the day in Los Angeles, California, is 9 hours and 55 minutes.

By 1 February, the days have lengthened to 10 hours and 35 minutes. The days increase by two minutes in length all the way through until April when the speed accelerates; by 1 June the day are 14 hours and 20 minutes long until the summer solstice on June 22 and 23; 14 hours and 28 minutes is the maximum length of daylight in LA.

From then on the length of daylight decreases until, you guessed it, the winter solstice.