The seasonal shift begins at 2 a.m. Sunday, when clocks officially fall back one hour to 1 a.m., returning California to Pacific Standard Time. While the change offers an extra hour of sleep, it also means that anyone working a traditional 9-to-5 schedule will suddenly find themselves leaving the office around sunset or after dark.
Thursday's sunset arrives at precisely 6 p.m., followed by approximately 5:59 p.m. Friday and 5:58 p.m. on Halloween. By Sunday evening, sunset will occur at approximately 4:57 p.m., a dramatic change on the clock even though the actual amount of daylight decreases by only about two minutes between Saturday and Sunday.
The shift will be equally noticeable in the morning. On Halloween, sunrise occurs around 7:05 a.m., but Sunday's sunrise will arrive around 6:05 a.m., giving early risers an extra hour of morning sunlight by the clock.
The tradeoff is especially noticeable in a coastal city where evening walks, beach visits, outdoor dining and sunset watching are part of everyday life. Those accustomed to catching the sunset after work at Sunset Cliffs, La Jolla Cove or Pacific Beach will have to rearrange their schedules or wait until winter begins giving way to longer evenings.
And the early sunsets are only getting started.
By November 8, the sun will set around 4:52 p.m. By the middle of November, sunset will be approaching 4:45 p.m., and by the end of the month, San Diego will be experiencing some of the earliest sunsets of the entire year.
The darkest evenings arrive in early December, around the 5th-8th, when sunset bottoms out at approximately 4:42 p.m. for several consecutive days. The earliest sunset occurs roughly two weeks before the winter solstice, a seemingly strange astronomical phenomenon that often surprises people who assume the shortest day must also have the earliest sunset.
The explanation involves the relationship between Earth's tilted axis, its elliptical orbit around the sun and the changing time of solar noon throughout the year. These factors cause the timing of sunrise and sunset to shift unevenly, even as the total number of daylight hours continues declining.
As a result, San Diego's sunsets begin gradually getting later in December before the winter solstice arrives. Sunrise, however, continues getting later into January, which is why the shortest day and earliest sunset do not coincide.
The winter solstice falls on Monday, December 21, 2026, marking the shortest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. San Diego will receive approximately 10 hours of daylight that day, with sunrise around 6:46 a.m. and sunset around 4:46 p.m.
For comparison, San Diego receives more than 14 hours of daylight around the summer solstice in June, when sunsets approach 8 p.m. The difference between the longest and shortest days amounts to more than four hours of sunshine.
There is some good news for those who dread the early darkness. Even after the sun officially sets, San Diego typically experiences another 25 to 30 minutes of civil twilight during the winter months, when enough natural light remains for many outdoor activities. On November 1, for example, sunset occurs around 4:57 p.m., but civil twilight continues until approximately 5:23 p.m.
By early December, however, even that remaining twilight will generally end shortly after 5 p.m., making evenings feel considerably darker.
The turning point comes in January. Around January 11, 2027, San Diego's sunset will finally move beyond 5 p.m. again, arriving at approximately 5:01 p.m. By then, the city will have endured roughly 10 consecutive weeks of sunsets before 5 p.m.
The latest sunrises of the winter also occur in early January, around 6:51 a.m., before mornings gradually begin brightening again.
San Diegans will not regain the familiar evening sunlight associated with daylight saving time until Sunday, March 14, 2027, when clocks spring forward an hour. That evening, sunset will jump to approximately 6:55 p.m., immediately restoring the possibility of catching a sunset after a conventional workday.
The twice-yearly clock changes have long been controversial. California voters approved Proposition 7 in 2018, authorizing state lawmakers to pursue changes to daylight saving time, but the measure did not itself eliminate the practice. Federal law continues to govern whether states may adopt permanent daylight saving time, and California will once again follow the established schedule this November.
For now, the calendar is bringing San Diego into its darkest stretch of the year. The city is not suddenly losing an hour of actual sunlight this weekend, but the clock change will shift that daylight away from the evening hours when many people are finally free to enjoy it.
So if you're planning a sunset dinner, an evening beach walk or one last golden-hour outing after work, Thursday marks the end of San Diego's 6 p.m. sunsets for 2026. Come Sunday, the sun will be gone before five, and it won't return to that hour until January.
The explanation involves the relationship between Earth's tilted axis, its elliptical orbit around the sun and the changing time of solar noon throughout the year. These factors cause the timing of sunrise and sunset to shift unevenly, even as the total number of daylight hours continues declining.
As a result, San Diego's sunsets begin gradually getting later in December before the winter solstice arrives. Sunrise, however, continues getting later into January, which is why the shortest day and earliest sunset do not coincide.
The winter solstice falls on Monday, December 21, 2026, marking the shortest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. San Diego will receive approximately 10 hours of daylight that day, with sunrise around 6:46 a.m. and sunset around 4:46 p.m.
For comparison, San Diego receives more than 14 hours of daylight around the summer solstice in June, when sunsets approach 8 p.m. The difference between the longest and shortest days amounts to more than four hours of sunshine.
There is some good news for those who dread the early darkness. Even after the sun officially sets, San Diego typically experiences another 25 to 30 minutes of civil twilight during the winter months, when enough natural light remains for many outdoor activities. On November 1, for example, sunset occurs around 4:57 p.m., but civil twilight continues until approximately 5:23 p.m.
By early December, however, even that remaining twilight will generally end shortly after 5 p.m., making evenings feel considerably darker.
The turning point comes in January. Around January 11, 2027, San Diego's sunset will finally move beyond 5 p.m. again, arriving at approximately 5:01 p.m. By then, the city will have endured roughly 10 consecutive weeks of sunsets before 5 p.m.
The latest sunrises of the winter also occur in early January, around 6:51 a.m., before mornings gradually begin brightening again.
San Diegans will not regain the familiar evening sunlight associated with daylight saving time until Sunday, March 14, 2027, when clocks spring forward an hour. That evening, sunset will jump to approximately 6:55 p.m., immediately restoring the possibility of catching a sunset after a conventional workday.
The twice-yearly clock changes have long been controversial. California voters approved Proposition 7 in 2018, authorizing state lawmakers to pursue changes to daylight saving time, but the measure did not itself eliminate the practice. Federal law continues to govern whether states may adopt permanent daylight saving time, and California will once again follow the established schedule this November.
For now, the calendar is bringing San Diego into its darkest stretch of the year. The city is not suddenly losing an hour of actual sunlight this weekend, but the clock change will shift that daylight away from the evening hours when many people are finally free to enjoy it.
So if you're planning a sunset dinner, an evening beach walk or one last golden-hour outing after work, Thursday marks the end of San Diego's 6 p.m. sunsets for 2026. Come Sunday, the sun will be gone before five, and it won't return to that hour until January.
Originally published on October 29, 2026.
