Seven facts about the Spring equinox
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The word ‘equinox’ comes from the Latin words for ‘equal night’ (aequus and nox). This makes sense, considering the length of day and night is nearly equal in all parts of the world on the spring equinox. From this point on, the amount of daylight experienced in a day starts to increase in the leadup to summer in the northern hemisphere. Express.co.uk reveals the exact date and time of the spring equinox for 2022.
Weather scientists split the year into quarters and, for them, March 1 is the start of spring.
However, that’s not astronomically true. The first day of spring is marked by the spring equinox, which happens at the same moment everywhere in the world.
The spring equinox is the name for when the Sun crosses the equator line, heading north.
The Sun is exactly above the equator at this point, meaning that day and night are of roughly equal length wherever you are.
After this date, the Northern Hemisphere begins to be more tilted towards the Sun.
That’s why we have increased daylight hours and warmer temperatures after spring has started.
This trend continues until the summer solstice (the longest day of the year) and then days start to get shorter again.
Brits are desperate for some sunshine and longer days… so when is the first day of spring?
When is the first day of spring?
The spring equinox isn’t on the same date every single year.
The timing of March equinoxes and solstices drift apart from the Gregorian calendar (what we used to measure the 365 days in the year.
This is because it takes the Earth around 365 days, five hours, 48 minutes and 45 seconds on average to make a full orbit around the sun.
On leap years, equinoxes normally happen a day earlier.
The equinox is normally on March 19, 20 or 21, depending on whether or not it is a leap year.
In 2021, the equinox was also on March 20 at 9.37am, but this year it’s a few hours later
In 2022, the spring equinox happens at exactly 3.32pm on March 20.
Next year, the spring equinox will occur on March 20 at 9.24pm.
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