Today (Wednesday, August 27) is a depressing day for the capital’s calendar as it marks the first time this summer the sun sets before 8pm. After a hot summer that saw thermostats regularly smash past the 30C mark, the sun will set at 7.59pm this evening. We now have to wait until April 17, 2026 for the next sunset of 8pm or later – 233 days away.
There will now be two minutes less sun each day, with things getting progressively darker and gloomier until the winter solstice, which is usually on December 21 or December 22. This is the shortest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere, and then daylight gradually increases each day until the summer solstice in June, when things start getting darker again.
But before then, the clocks will go back, on the last Sunday of each October (the 26th this year). What makes this particularly gruelling is that not only does it get darker earlier, but the days still draw in by two minutes.
Amateur UK forecaster @TheSnowDreamer posted on X earlier this week: “This evening sees last sunset after 8pm in London until April 17, 2026 yesterday also experienced the first 6am or later sunrise since mid April. The early birds will increasingly notice this more in coming weeks. We are now really on the downturn.”
And to make matters worse on this depressing day, there will be thundery showers haunting us until about 6pm, according to the BBC. Despite thunderbolts ceasing at around 6pm, it will be intermittently raining until as late as 9pm.
Things won’t be getting much better tomorrow (Thursday, August 28) either, according to the same forecaster. The forecaster says ‘tomorrow, early sunshine will be replaced by cloud and scattered showers moving in from the west, heavy and thundery at times in the afternoon. A few sunny spells may also develop in the afternoon’.
The Met Office’s long range forecast, which runs until September 9, is equally as ominous. It predicts “changeable and unsettled weather conditions are expected across the UK during this period with low pressure systems tending to dominate the overall pattern. This will mean showers or longer spells of rain will affect the majority of the UK at times. Some heavy rain or showers are expected in places, most often in the west. Thunderstorms and hail are also possible, as are some spells of strong winds if any deep areas of low pressure form in the vicinity of the UK.”
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