California will start losing daylight after the summer solstice. Here’s how fast

It might have felt like it already, but summer is officially here in California.

Wednesday is the summer solstice, an astronomical event that marks the start of the summer season.

What is the summer solstice?

The summer solstice occurs when the Sun travels north in its path in the sky, according to the Old Farmer’s Almanac. At this time, the Earth reaches a point in its orbit where the North Pole is at its highest tilt toward the sun.

When this happens, it’s summer for the northern hemisphere, while in the southern hemisphere, it’s the start of winter.

The almanac states that the summer solstice started 7:58 a.m. Wednesday.

When is the sun setting on June 21?

During the summer solstice, states like California will enjoy a day with the longest daylight and shortest night of the year.

According to the almanac, sunrise in Sacramento on Wednesday was at 5:40 a.m. and sunset will be at 8:35 p.m.

Days will get shorter

After the summer solstice, the days will get progressively shorter.

According to Time and Date, the days will slowly get shorter during the summer at daily intervals into the fall season.

Sunset times gradually decrease each day in minutes, as seen in a chart by Time and Date. By the fall equinox, or the first day of fall, on Sept. 22, the sunrise is expected at 6:53 a.m. and sunset is expected to set at 7:03 p.m.

By the end of June, we will have lost approximately 2 minutes and 30 seconds of daylight, leaving roughly 14 hours and 49 minutes. The fall equinox will only have 12 hours and 9 minutes in the sun. The winter solstice in December has a daylength of just 9 hours and 28 minutes.

This story was originally published June 21, 2023 at 9:09 AM.