When does winter start? The first day of the UK 2026 season explained

WITH temperatures starting to drop across the UK and the colder months on the horizon, many Brits will be wondering when winter officially rolls around. There is still Autumn to look forward to in the meantime, but when does the festive winter season officially begin this year? As the months roll on, winter looms closer and closer Credit: Getty Autumn has to come first though, acting as the transitional season between winter and summer Credit: Kara Godfrey The official answer depends on who you ask, with meteorologists and astronomers ordering the seasons in different ways. Meteorologists have a fixed date on the calendar, while astronomers follow the movement of the Earth and stars. Sign up for The Sun newsletter Thank you! When does summer end? The end of summer marks the return of autumn, which brings a drop in temperature and much darker skies. Autumn acts as the transitional season between the hot, vibrant summer months and the frosty winter period, but can have two different start dates depending on which system you use. Depending on who you ask, autumn either starts on September 1 or September 23 Credit: Getty Meteorological summer always finishes on August 31, meaning those who follow climate records to determine the season consider autumn to have started on September 1. Meanwhile, astronomical summer ends on September 23 as that’s when the autumnal equinox will take place this year. When do the clocks change? The end of summer means a change in time zone, as British Summer Time (BST) comes to a close. This transition takes place on the last Sunday of October – that’s October 25 this year, with clocks going back an hour to return the UK to Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). Most read in The Sun Although Brits will lose an hour of evening daylight, it means brighter starts to the day and an extra hour of sleep on the Sunday morning. When does winter start? Like the change from summer into autumn, there is no official date for the return of winter as it depends on how you order the seasons. Meteorologists, who divide the calendar year into four equal periods of three months each, view winter as spanning across the exact three-month period of December, January, and February. There is no official date winter starts – but depending on how you order the seasons it’ll either land on December 1 or December 21 Credit: Getty That means that under this system, the last season of 2026 begins on December 1. On the other hand, those who follow the solar system will view winter as arriving later in the month. Astronomical seasons are determined by the position of the Earth’s orbit relative to the sun – using key events like equinoxes and solstices. This year, the winter solstice – the shortest day of the year – marks the start of winter, with that set to take place on Monday, December 21. Comment now