How much light a UK winter really gives you.

Quick answer. In a UK winter the sun is up for about 7 hours 50 minutes in London on the shortest day, 7 hours 28 minutes in Manchester, 6 hours 58 minutes in Edinburgh and 5 hours 49 minutes in Lerwick (calculated, 21 December 2026). Hours of actual bright sunshine are far fewer: averaged over 1991 to 2020, the UK as a whole gets about 43 hours in December, around 1 hour 23 minutes a day (calculated from Met Office monthly data).

How many hours of sunlight does the UK get in winter?

That depends on what you count. There are two different numbers, and they are often mixed up.

• Daylight is the time from sunrise to sunset. It depends only on the date and how far north you are, so it can be calculated exactly.
• Sunshine is the time the sun is actually shining through, not hidden by cloud. The Met Office measures it at weather stations as the "total duration of bright sunshine".

In winter the gap between them is wide. A December day in London has nearly 8 hours of daylight, and on average fewer than 2 of them are sunny.

How many hours of daylight in each UK city in winter?

We calculated sunrise and sunset for each city with the NOAA solar position method. These are the hours of daylight on the 15th of each winter month.

Calculated for November 2026 to February 2027, sunrise to sunset. Published tables can differ by a minute. On 15 October every city still has between 10 and 11 hours. By 15 March they are all within a few minutes of 11 hours 47 minutes, because near the equinox latitude makes almost no difference.

The further north you are, the bigger the swing. London's daylight on 21 December is about 8 hours 49 minutes shorter than on 21 June. Edinburgh's is about 10 hours 39 minutes shorter, and Lerwick's about 13 hours. The exact day and time of the solstice are in our guide to the shortest day of 2026.

How many hours of sunshine does the UK get in winter?

The Met Office publishes monthly sunshine totals for the UK and each country, going back to 1910 (Met Office UK sunshine series). We averaged the 30 years from 1991 to 2020 to get these figures.

Calculated from the Met Office's monthly country series, averages for 1991 to 2020, rounded. December is the dullest month of the year everywhere. For comparison, the UK averages about 192 hours of sunshine in May, more than four times December's total.

For a single place, the Met Office station at Heathrow averaged about 53 hours of sunshine in December over the same 30 years. London has about 246 hours of daylight in December (calculated), so roughly one daylight hour in five is sunny.

When do the days start getting longer?

Straight after 21 December, but slowly at first. In London the days are growing by about 1 minute a day at New Year, about 2 and a half minutes a day by mid-January and almost 4 minutes a day by March (calculated). In autumn they shrink at a similar pace, nearly 4 minutes a day in early October.

• 8 hours of daylight returns to London on 5 January, and to Edinburgh on 23 January.
• 9 hours on 29 January in London, 7 February in Edinburgh.
• 10 hours on 15 February in London, 20 February in Edinburgh.
• 12 hours on 18 March in both, two days before the equinox. Sunrise and sunset are timed from the top edge of the sun, and the atmosphere bends its light over the horizon, so day and night even out a little early.

All dates calculated for 2027.

Is winter sunlight enough for vitamin D?

No. In the UK the winter sun is too low for skin to make vitamin D, however clear the sky. The NHS says "between October and early March we do not make enough vitamin D from sunlight" (NHS), and it advises everyone to consider a 10 microgram vitamin D supplement a day in autumn and winter. Our guide to vitamin D in a UK winter has the full advice.

Daylight still shapes the day. With so few light hours, it helps to plan time outside, usually around the middle of the day, rather than leave it to chance. Our piece on feeling tired in winter covers the routine side.

Where Immufix fits.

One scoop (25g) of Immufix in around 200ml of water, once a day, is an easy habit to keep whatever time the sun comes up. It contains 1.25 micrograms of vitamin D3, 25% of the nutrient reference value, which is well short of the NHS's 10 micrograms for autumn and winter. If you follow that advice, take a dedicated vitamin D supplement and count the 1.25 micrograms in your total.

Vitamin D contributes to the maintenance of normal bones and to normal muscle function. B vitamins and magnesium contribute to normal energy-yielding metabolism and to the reduction of tiredness and fatigue. Every amount is listed on the science page.

The short version.

• Daylight on 21 December 2026: London 7h 50m, Manchester 7h 28m, Edinburgh 6h 58m, Lerwick 5h 49m (calculated).
• Actual sunshine is much less: about 43 hours across the UK in an average December, around 1 hour 23 minutes a day.
• Scotland averages about 30 hours of December sunshine, under an hour a day. England averages about 51.
• London gets back to 9 hours of daylight on 29 January and 10 hours on 15 February.
• Winter sun is too weak for vitamin D. The NHS advises considering 10 micrograms a day from October to March.

Food supplements should not be used as a substitute for a varied, balanced diet and a healthy lifestyle. If you have a medical condition, are pregnant, breastfeeding or taking medication, speak to your GP or pharmacist before taking any food supplement.