September equinox 2022

The September equinox 2022 is on Friday, September 23, 2022 (in 119 days).  Calendar for 2022

Please note: The dates given on this page are based on Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), which for practical purposes is equivalent to Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). While the September equinox occurs at the same moment in time all over the world, the date and local time differ from location to location depending on a location's time zone. For more details see the explanations below.

The September equinox, also called southward equinox, is the moment in time (not a day-long event) when the Sun stands directly above the equator while crossing from the north to the south. For the Northern Hemisphere (where nearly 90% of the world's population live) it is the autumn equinox (fall equinox) as it is the moment when summer ends and autumn (fall) begins, while for the Southern Hemisphere it is the vernal equinox (spring equinox), the moment when winter ends and spring begins. Up until the September equinox the Sun rises and sets more to the north of the equator, and afterwards it rises and sets more to the south.

The September equinox usually occurs every year between September 21 and 24. The dates given on this page are based on Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), which for practical purposes is equivalent to Greenwich Mean Time (GMT - the time zone of the United Kingdom). While the September equinox occurs at the same moment in time all over the world, the date and local time differ from place to place depending on the year and a location's time zone. For locations that are ahead of UTC (further east) it may fall on the day after, and for locations that are behind UTC (further west) it may fall on the day before. To find out the exact date and time of the September equinox 2022 in your area use this seasons calculator.

The September equinox is one of four days (two equinoxes and two solstices) throughout the year that mark the beginning of a new season. The other days are the March equinox, the June solstice and the December solstice.

The word "equinox" is derived from Latin and means "equal night". On the day of an equinox, day and night are of approximately equal length all over the world, as the Earth's rotational axis is neither tilted away from nor towards the Sun. At all other times the length of day and night will be different.


The exact moment of the September equinox through the centuries

Graph demonstrating the movement (caused by leap shifting) of the exact moment of the September equinox between 1900 and 2520. X axis (bottom, horizontal): Calendar years, Y axis (left, vertical): day in September (21 to 23).

In a non-leap year, the moment of the September equinox is about 5 hours 49 minutes after that moment in the previous year (in UTC), and in a leap year it is about 18 hours 11 minutes before that moment in the previous year, as can be seen in this graph. In this way the time of the September equinox constantly shifts back and forth so it always stays between September 21 and 24. This four year cycle is clearly visible in the graph.

To adjust for the gradual movement backwards on the calendar (as visible for the period 1900 to 2099), in years divisible by 100 (1900, 2100, 2200, 2300 and 2500 on the graph), which should be leap years as they are divisible by 4, the leap day is omitted (except when they are divisible by 400, eg. 2000 and 2400) and the moment of the September equinox moves forward in time compared to the same moment in the year before.

Further reading:

• September equinox on Wikipedia
• Equinoxes in general on Wikipedia

Overview: seasons, equinoxes and solstices

Dates shown apply to the Northern Hemisphere and are based on UTC (GMT)

Season	Start	End
Spring	Spring equinox (vernal equinox, March equinox) March 19 to 21	Summer solstice (June solstice) June 20 to 22
Summer	Summer solstice (June solstice) June 20 to 22	Autumn equinox (Fall equinox, September equinox) September 21 to 24
Autumn (Fall)	Autumn equinox (Fall equinox, September equinox) September 21 to 24	Winter solstice (December solstice) December 20 to 23
Winter	Winter solstice (December solstice) December 20 to 23	Spring equinox (vernal equinox, March equinox) March 19 to 21

The September equinox 2023 is on Saturday, September 23, 2023 (in 484 days).  Calendar for 2023

Dates of the September equinox 2022 and surrounding years as downloadable image file

US federal holidays
New Year's Day
Martin Luther King Day (MLK Day)
Presidents' Day
    (Washington's Birthday)
Memorial Day
Juneteenth
Independence Day (4th of July)
Labor Day
Columbus Day
Veterans Day
Thanksgiving Day
Christmas Day

Canadian holidays
Canadian Thanksgiving
Family Day

Australian holidays
ANZAC Day

The seasons
Spring
Vernal equinox (spring equinox,
March equinox)
Summer
Summer solstice (June solstice)
Autumn / Fall
Autumn equinox (fall equinox,
September equinox)
Winter
Winter solstice (December solstice)
First Day of Spring
First Day of Summer
First Day of Autumn / First Day of Fall
First Day of Winter

Christian (and related)
Advent
Advent Sunday
All Hallows' Eve
All Hallows' Day
All Saints' Day
All Souls' Day
Ascension Day
Ash Wednesday
Black Saturday
Boxing Day
Bright Saturday
Bright Week
Candlemas
Christmas
Christmas Day
Christmas Eve
Christmastide
Corpus Christi
Easter
Easter Day
Easter Eve
Easter Friday
Easter Monday
Easter Tuesday
Easter Saturday
Easter Sunday
Eastertide
Easter Week
Easter Weekend
Epiphany
Epiphany Eve
Fat Tuesday
First day of Lent
Good Friday
Halloween
Holy Friday
Holy Saturday
Holy Thursday
Holy Week
Jesus' Birthday
Lazarus Saturday
Lent
Mardi Gras
Maundy Thursday
Orthodox Easter
Palm Sunday
Pancake Day
Pancake Tuesday
Pascha
Pentecost
Pentecost Sunday
Pentecost Monday
Shrove Monday
Shrove Tuesday
St. Andrew's Day
St. David's Day
St. George's Day
St. Patrick's Day
St. Stephen's Day
Theophany
Three Kings Day
Trinity Sunday
Twelve Days of Christmas
Twelfth Night
Whit Sunday
Whit Monday

Other days
April Fools Day
Armed Forces Day
Black Friday
Buy Nothing Day
Cinco de Mayo
Constitution Day
Cyber Monday
Daylight Saving Time
Day of the Dead
Día de los Muertos
Diwali (Deepavali)
Earth Day
Election Day
Father's Day
Flag Day
Giving Tuesday
Grandparents' Day
Groundhog Day
Halloween
Human Rights Day
Indigenous Peoples' Day
International Women's Day
Mother's Day
Native American Day
New Year's Day
New Year's Eve
Panic Saturday (Super Saturday)
Parents' Day
Star Wars Day
Samhain
Small Business Saturday
Summer time
Super Saturday (Panic Saturday)
Teacher Appreciation Day
Teacher Appreciation Week
Valentine's Day
World Environment Day
World Teachers' Day