Winter Solstice 2024 Southern Hemisphere. The date varies because the gregorian calendar has 365 days, with an extra leap day added. The 2024 winter solstice — the precise moment when the sun appears farthest south in the sky — is at 4:20 a.m.

The winter solstice marks the year’s longest night and shortest day. How can the december solstice have the longest night in the northern hemisphere but neither the earliest sunset nor the latest sunrise?