Winter solstice Explained - Source stuff.co.nz

Depending on where you live the winter solstice - the official start to the astronomical winter season - will mean  your day will be light for just 8 hours and 35 minutes at the least, and 9 hours and 46 minutes at the most on Saturday June 22.

From then on, our days will begin to change, breaking us out of that winter funk.

But don't think long, warm days are just around the corner - it will be a slow, cold few weeks until we notice any difference.

"For a while, most people won't know the difference," Niwa principal science forecaster Chris Brandolino said.

WHERE WILL THE SUNLIGHT BE?

 "The longest days will be found in Northland and the shortest in the far south - Stewart Island," according to Augutis.

For the rest of the country, Invercargill will see one of the shortest days with 8 hours and 35 minutes of daylight - 7 hours less than what it receives during December's summer solstice - followed by Dunedin with 8 hours, 39 minutes and 12 seconds, Christchurch with 8 hours, 56 minutes and 23 seconds, and Wellington with 9 hours, 11 minutes and 24 seconds.

Those living in the north will be able to make the most of their day with 9 hours, 32 minutes and 37 seconds of daylight shining on Hamilton, 9 hours, 37 minutes and 55 seconds in Auckland, and 9 hours, 46 minutes and 43 seconds in Kerikeri, according to Niwa data.

 Augutis explained the East Cape will welcome the earliest sunrise - Gisborne at 7.25am - while the latest will occur in Invercargill at 8.30am.

At the end of the day, Invercargill will say goodbye to the sun at 5.05pm and Kaitaia at 5.22pm.

For the main city centres, Auckland will welcome a 7.33am sunrise on June 22 and a 5.11pm sunset, Wellington sunrise will be at 7.47am and sunset at 4.58pm, while Christchurch will see an 8.03am sunrise and a 4.59pm sunset, according to Time and Date.

Over the eight days following the solstice, sunrises around the country will be one minute later and sunsets three minutes later.

WHY DOES THIS HAPPEN?

It all comes down to the "solar noon" and the "solar day".

The solar noon measures the time in which the sun crosses the local meridian - the imaginary line connecting the north and south poles - and sits at its highest point. Or in layman's terms, it's the moment exactly halfway between sunrise and sunset when the sun reaches its peak.

Between June 22 and June 30, Wellington and Auckland's solar noons will take place between 12.22pm and 12.24pm, Christchurch's between 12.31pm and 12.32, and Queenstown's between 12.47pm and 12.48pm.

 Many would consider midday to be that time, but that isn't always the case. As Augutis explained, "our clocks do not keep solar time".

Augutis explained the difference between the two times - solar and clock - peak around the summer and winter solstices.

They cause the day length to shift half a minute and are the reason for sunrise happening later, she said.

WILL IT BE GETTING WARMER?

As we continue to move towards spring temperatures will slowly rise, but it's most definitely still winter weather.

"For the next week it's not looking warm, but remembering it is winter and it does look like we could still get some frosts in some places," MetService meteorologist Stephen Glassey explained.

However, the temperatures we'll experience - especially around Central Otago and inland Canterbury - are not nearly as cold as the temperatures that have hit the region in the last few weeks.

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