It’s official evenings in Devon are getting lighter again

There is a small but significant shift in daylight across Devon as the county begins to see later sunsets, signalling the gradual return of lighter evenings.

According to BBC Weather data, sunset times start to move later from Saturday 20 December, with evenings gaining around one extra minute of daylight. The pattern then continues with sunset times increasing by about a minute every other day as December progresses.

This change happens just ahead of the winter solstice on 21 December, which marks the shortest day of the year in terms of total daylight hours. While the solstice represents the point when days stop getting shorter overall, changes to sunrise and sunset times do not happen at the same time.

Across Devon, the sun has already reached its earliest sunset of the year earlier in December.

From this weekend, sunsets begin to shift later on the clock, meaning daylight lingers slightly longer into the evening, even though mornings are still getting darker.

The reason for this lies in the Earth’s orbit and its tilt. The planet does not move around the Sun in a perfect circle, and the axis is tilted, which affects how daylight is distributed throughout the day. As a result, sunset times begin to improve before sunrise times do.

In practical terms, this means residents may notice evenings feeling marginally lighter from late December, while sunrise will continue to occur later for several days after the solstice. The latest sunrises typically fall in the days following 21 December.

Sunset times vary slightly depending on location, with western parts of Devon experiencing marginally later sunsets than areas further east. However, the overall pattern of increasing evening daylight applies across the county.

Although the changes are subtle, measured in minutes rather than hours, they mark the first step towards longer days. Daylight will continue to increase gradually through January, with more noticeable improvements later in the winter.