How many days until winter?
Countdown to the winter solstice - the shortest day of the year. Auto-detects your hemisphere.
How this winter countdown works
This tool counts to the winter solstice, the astronomical start of winter and the shortest day of the year in your hemisphere. It guesses your hemisphere from your device’s time zone, and you can switch it with the Northern and Southern buttons. In the Northern Hemisphere winter starts at the December solstice; in the Southern Hemisphere it starts at the June solstice, the same moment as the north’s summer solstice.
Once the date passes, the counter moves on to the next winter solstice.
Winter dates for the next five years
| Northern Hemisphere (December solstice, UTC date) | Southern Hemisphere (June solstice, UTC date) |
|---|---|
| December 21, 2026 | June 21, 2027 |
| December 22, 2027 | June 20, 2028 |
| December 21, 2028 | June 21, 2029 |
| December 21, 2029 | June 21, 2030 |
| December 21, 2030 | June 21, 2031 |
The exact moment is given in Coordinated Universal Time. This tool counts to the start of that date at midnight in your time zone, so where you live the astronomical moment can fall a day earlier or later than the date shown.
The shortest day of the year
At the winter solstice the sun is at its lowest in the sky at midday, and daylight is shortest. After it, days get longer again, even though the coldest weather usually comes several weeks later because land and oceans lose heat slowly.
Astronomical vs meteorological winter
Weather services use whole months: winter is December, January and February in the north and June, July and August in the south, starting on December 1 or June 1. By that measure it starts about three weeks before the solstice. This tool uses the solstice.
Winter dates close to the solstice
In the north, Christmas Day is four days after a December 21 solstice, and New Year’s Day comes 11 days after it. See the Christmas countdown and days until New Year tools for those.
Put the winter countdown on your Home Screen
- Install Left on your iPhone, open Ahead and tap Add a date ahead, then New date.
- Name it First day of winter and set Starts to the solstice date for your hemisphere from the table.
- Leave Repeat set to Never. The solstice date shifts slightly from year to year, so add the next one once this one has passed.
- Save, then add Left’s Ahead widget to your Home Screen or Lock Screen and pick the date in Edit Widget.
Left’s widgets are free, and the free plan includes 2 countdowns. See the countdown widget page for sizes and Lock Screen options.
Questions
When is the first day of winter in 2026?
In the Northern Hemisphere, the winter solstice is on December 21, 2026 (UTC). In the Southern Hemisphere, winter starts at the June solstice, on June 21, 2027 (UTC).
Is the winter solstice always the shortest day?
Yes. It is the day with the least daylight in your hemisphere. After it, days get longer.
Does winter start on December 1?
Meteorologists count December 1 as the start of winter in the north to keep whole months. Astronomical winter starts at the solstice, which is what this countdown uses.
Does the tool know which hemisphere I am in?
It guesses from your device’s time zone. If it guesses wrong, tap Northern or Southern to switch.
Start noticing what matters.
Download Left on your iPhone to see the time you have left, dates you are looking forward to, build the habits you want to keep, and become a better version of yourself.
Scan or search "Left" on the App Store.