When does autumn officially start in the UK and what is the equinox?

11 September 2024, 10:17

Autumn weather seems to be upon us already but is summer really over? Here's the exact date autumn begins in the UK.

The weather in the UK seems to have taken a dramatic drop in September with the last of the summer heatwaves officially over and the chillier mornings beginning - so when does autumn actually start in the UK?

For many of us, the hopes of a final burst of heat and sunshine are slowly dwindling as we start to look forward to golden leaves, cosier evenings and crisp mornings. That's also not to forget all the celebrations that come with it including Halloween, Fireworks night and Christmas.

But for many in the UK, they can't believe summer may already be over in 2024 after such a disappointing few months.

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Here's everything you need to know about the upcoming autumn season including what day it starts, the autumn months and what the equinox is.

When is the start of autumn in the UK?

There are two ways in which people break down the seasons across a typical year - the meteorological way or via the astronomical way involving the equinox.

For ease, the meteorological autumn officially begins on the 1st of September 2024. This is a system that divides the months of the year by four (to cover all seasons) and assigns those three months to the right time of year.

Using this system, autumn in the UK consists of the months September, October and November, while winter is December, January and February, spring is March, April and May, while summer is made up of the June, July and August months.

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When is the autumn equinox?

According to the astronomical autumn, the autumn equinox will signal the start of the season which starts on the 22nd of September 2024.

This is to do with when the sun crosses the celestial equator going south, meaning the start of a new season. The date this occurs on changes every year, meaning the autumn equinox will not always happen on the same day.

When does summer end?

Summer will end during the autumnal equinox which is on the 22nd of September 2024. However, if you follow the meteorological autumn, summer shall end on the 31st of August as autumn begins on the 1st of September.

Again, the date of summer ending changes yearly, so it will not always occur on the same day.

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