The science of increasing daylight and later sunsets heading towards spring

More people are starting to spend more time outdoors with the current rise in temperatures. As the average temperature continues to rise heading closer to spring, the amount of daylight will also look to increase.

Monday the 24th sees a sunset time of 5:57 with 11 hours and nine minutes of daylight for Columbia, Missouri. Sunset times will push later and later in the coming weeks along with an increase in the daylight hours substantially.

The reasoning for the later sunsets and increased daylight hours is due to the earth's tilt of 23.5 degrees on its axis. The Vernal Equinox or otherwise known as the Spring Equinox occurs on March 20th, 2025. This date is used as a benchmark of when the north and south pole will see the same amount of sunlight during the daytime hours.

Once the Vernal Equinox has passed, the northern hemisphere will see longer amounts of sunlight in a given day compared to the southern hemisphere. This is due to the northern hemisphere pointing more directly towards the sun.

The Spring Equinox is less than a month away, and daylight will slowly increase. Daylight Saving occurs in just under two weeks from Monday the 24th. This will push the sunset back one hour into the evening.