Sunset in London, 2026–27: when it gets dark and how many weekday journeys home start after sunset

What time does it get dark in London?

In London the sun sets as early as 15:51, around 12 December, and as late as 21:22, on 25 June. On the shortest day, 21 December 2026, sunrise is at 08:04 and sunset at 15:53: 7 h 50 min of daylight. Civil dusk, the moment the Sun is 6 degrees below the horizon, follows sunset by about 40 minutes in December.

The table gives sunrise, sunset and civil dusk for the 1st and 15th of every month, on the clock in force that day: GMT from 25 October 2026, BST from 28 March 2027.

When do the clocks go back in 2026?

The clocks go back at 02:00 on 25 October 2026, when British Summer Time ends and 02:00 BST becomes 01:00 GMT. They go forward at 01:00 on 28 March 2027. The UK changes the clocks on the last Sunday of October and the last Sunday of March.

The evening shows it most. On Saturday 24 October sunset in London is at 17:49. On Sunday 25 October it is at 16:47: an hour earlier on the clock and 2 minutes earlier by the Sun. The first weekday on GMT, 26 October 2026, sunset is at 16:45, so anyone who leaves work at 17:00 or later walks out after sunset. Sunrise moves the other way, from 07:40 to 06:42.

In spring the change reverses. On Saturday 27 March sunset is at 18:25 and on Sunday 28 March it is at 19:27, while sunrise jumps from 05:48 to 06:46.

Why does the earliest sunset come before the shortest day?

The shortest day is 21 December 2026, with 7 h 50 min of daylight. Sunset is earliest nine days before that, around 12 December at 15:51, and sunrise is latest nine days after, on 30 December at 08:06.

The reason is the Sun's timekeeping. Over the year solar noon, the moment the Sun is highest, drifts against the clock. In December it falls later every day, by about 30 seconds: 11:55 on 13 December, 12:03 on 29 December. That drift pulls sunrise and sunset later together, while the day itself is still shortening. In early December the drift beats the shortening for sunset, so sunset stops getting earlier. After the solstice the days start to lengthen, which on its own would bring sunrise earlier, but the drift is still larger, so sunrise keeps getting later for nine more days.

What would change if the UK stopped changing the clocks?

Three clock rules, counted for someone who leaves work at 17:30 and home at 08:00:

Staying on GMT all year leaves winter as it is. Summer loses an hour of evening: the latest sunset is 20:22 instead of 21:22, and the earliest sunrise 03:43 instead of 04:43.

Staying on BST all year moves every winter sunset an hour later, so the earliest is 16:51, but the latest sunrise becomes 09:06, and sunrise is after 08:30 on 55 weekdays. On the current clocks that never happens.

The UK has run this experiment. On 27 October 1968 the clocks did not go back, and they stayed on GMT+1 through three winters, as British Standard Time, until 31 October 1971.

The counts assume working hours stay the same on the clock.

Questions people ask about dark evenings in London

What time is sunset in London in December?

Sunset in London is at 15:51 at its earliest, around 12 December, and 15:53 on the shortest day, 21 December 2026. It is back to 15:59 by 29 December. Civil twilight, which ends when the Sun is 6 degrees below the horizon, finishes about 40 minutes after sunset, at 16:34 on the shortest day.

Is it dark at 5pm in London?

From 25 October 2026 to 6 February 2027, sunset in London is before 17:00, on 105 days. At 17:00 on 7 February 2027 the Sun is still up. The sun sets before 16:00 only between 25 November 2026 and 30 December 2026.

When do the clocks go back in 2026?

The clocks go back on 25 October 2026. At 02:00 BST they return to 01:00 GMT, so sunset in London moves from 17:49 the day before to 16:47 that evening.

When do the clocks go forward in 2027?

The clocks go forward on 28 March 2027. At 01:00 GMT they move to 02:00 BST, so sunset in London moves from 18:25 the day before to 19:27, and sunrise from 05:48 to 06:46.

When do the evenings start getting lighter in London?

Sunset is earliest around 12 December (15:51) and has crept later every day since. It passes 17:00 again on 7 February 2027 and 18:00 on 13 March 2027. The clocks go forward on 28 March 2027, which brings sunset to 19:27.

When is the shortest day in London in 2026?

The shortest day is 21 December 2026: 7 h 50 min of daylight, with sunrise at 08:04 and sunset at 15:53.

What is the difference between sunset and civil dusk?

Sunset is when the top edge of the Sun meets the horizon. Civil dusk comes later, when the Sun is 6 degrees below the horizon. In London that is about 40 minutes after sunset in December and about 47 minutes after sunset in June.

How the times are calculated

Sunrise and sunset use the NOAA solar-position equations (after Jean Meeus, Astronomical Algorithms) for Charing Cross, 51.5074° N, 0.1278° W. Sunrise and sunset are when the top edge of the Sun meets the horizon, allowing for standard refraction. Civil dusk is when the Sun is 6° below the horizon. The times are good to about a minute and shift by up to two minutes between the east and west edges of Greater London.

Clock times follow UK rules: BST from the last Sunday of March to the last Sunday of October. A journey counts as starting after dark when you leave at or after sunset; civil twilight lasts about 40 minutes more in December. The year runs from 1 October 2026 to 30 September 2027.

Sources

• NOAA Global Monitoring Laboratory, Solar Calculation Details (the equations used)
• GOV.UK, When do the clocks change?
• Summer Time Act 1972, legislation.gov.uk
• British Summer Time, Wikipedia (British Standard Time, 1968–1971)