Australia’s hot girl summer is officially in full swing, meaning the sunnies, bucket hats and short shorts have come out to play. If you’re hoping to soak up the warmer days and balmy summer nights, you’ll want to mark your calendar for the 2025 summer solstice on Sunday, December 21 – aka the longest day of the year.
In Australia, the summer solstice is set to bless us with between 13 and 15.5 hours of daylight, depending on which city you’re in. Here’s a rundown of the exact timings of sunrise and sunset.
When is the summer solstice in Australia?
The summer solstice occurs annually across the Southern Hemisphere between December 21 and 23. In 2025, Australia’s longest day falls on Sunday, December 21. From then on, our days will gradually become shorter than our nights until the winter solstice in Australia on Sunday, June 21, 2026.
What is the summer solstice?
The summer solstice marks the longest day of the year, bringing the most daylight hours between sunrise and sunset. In the Southern Hemisphere, this happens when our side of Earth is tilted closest to the sun. As a result, the sun's rays hit the Earth more directly, leading to extended daylight hours and the sun appearing higher in the sky.
At the same time, the Northern Hemisphere will experience the winter solstice, due to the North Pole being at its farthest tilt away from the Sun.
How long does the summer solstice last?
On December 21, Australia will bask in between 13 and 15.5 hours of daylight. Here are the estimated daylight hours for each Australian capital city:
- Adelaide: 5.58am – 8.28pm (14 hrs 30 mins)
- Brisbane: 4.49am – 6.42pm (13 hrs 52 mins)
- Canberra: 5.45am – 8.17pm (14 hrs 32 mins)
- Darwin: 6.18am – 7.10pm (12 hrs 51 mins)
- Hobart: 5.28am – 8.49pm (15 hrs 21 mins)
- Melbourne: 5.54am – 8.41pm (14 hrs 47 mins)
- Perth: 5.07am – 7.21pm (14 hrs, 14 mins)
- Sydney: 5.40am – 8.05pm (14 hrs 24 mins)
Compared to the winter solstice, Hobart gets the biggest daylight boost with six hours and 20 minutes more sunshine. Meanwhile, Darwin’s daylight hours increase by only one hour and 28 minutes. You can find your city’s daylight hours here.