Vernal equinox 2023

The Vernal equinox 2023 is on Monday, March 20, 2023 (in 104 days).  Calendar for 2023

The Vernal equinox 2022 has already passed: it was on Sunday, March 20, 2022 (260 days ago).  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 Vernal 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.

In the Northern Hemisphere, the moment in time when the Sun stands directly above the equator while crossing from the south to the north is called vernal equinox (also known as spring equinox, March equinox or northward equinox). It is the moment winter ends and spring begins in the Northern Hemisphere (where nearly 90% of the world's population live). For the Southern Hemisphere, it is the autumn equinox (fall equinox) as it is the moment summer ends and autumn (fall) begins.

In the Northern Hemisphere the vernal equinox occurs every year between March 19 and March 21. 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 vernal 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 vernal equinox 2023 in your area use this seasons calculator.

The vernal 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 summer solstice (beginning of summer), the autumn equinox (beginning of autumn) and the winter solstice (beginning of winter).

In a non-leap year, the moment of the vernal 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. In this way the time of the vernal equinox constantly shifts back and forth so it always stays on or around March 20.

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 date of the vernal equinox is significant in Christianity as it is important for the calculation of Easter. As decreed by the Council of Nicaea in AD 325, Easter always falls on the first Sunday after the first full moon that occurs on or after the vernal equinox. However, by convention Christian churches have fixed the ecclesiastical date to March 21 and base all calculations on this date even if the astronomical date differs.

Summer time in Europe starts a few days after the vernal equinox.

Further reading:

• March 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 Vernal equinox 2024 is on Wednesday, March 20, 2024 (in 470 days).  Calendar for 2024

Dates of the Vernal equinox 2023 and surrounding years as downloadable image file

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