Spiritual or science: When does autumn officially start?

  • Weather
For some of us, September marks the start of Autumn but it's not the case for everyone. Credit: Pic: @TractorWalking

This week marked the start of a new month - and for some a new season.

Or does it?

This topic divides opinion. When the seasons begin and end is isn't the same for everyone.

For some, as we end August, it's immediately the start of Autumn - even if the weather is still something we'd see at the height of Summer.

In fact, this week we'll be seeing temperatures in the high 20s, maybe even 30.

But are we in Autumn? Well it depends if you opt for spiritual or science.

Meteorological Autumn

Meteorological autumn started this week on September 1.

In the weather world, seasons are equally divided into four three-month blocks for ease.

It's particularly useful when recording statistics and data for business needs.

Meteorologists also work by this pattern as it allows for fairer comparisons and context by keeping variables like daylight hours more consistent.

It's an integral part of forecasting.

It means the change of seasons are based on the calendar year and yearly temperature cycles.

Astronomical Autumn

Astronomical autumn starts when the Autumn Equinox occurs - later in September.

This is also known as 'natures first day of autumn'.

The Equinox is around the 22nd or 23rd of the month, when day and night become more equal in length.

After this point the days become gradually shorter and the nights a little longer.

At the moment, we're losing around four minutes a day here in the UK.

The discovery was announced days before this year's summer solstice. Credit: PA

It's determined by Earth's orbit around the sun and its axis tilt.

During the equinox, the sun shines directly on the equator resulting in equal length of day and night across the globe.

It happens twice a year. Here in the northern hemisphere - our autumn Equinox occurs in September while the spring Equinox is in March.

Equinox is a variation of a Latin word which translates to 'equal night'.

So is it late summer or early autumn?

There's no wrong or right answer.

Given it can be very warm in September - such as the significant and long heatwave of 2023 - it might be up to the weather to decide.

With temperatures due to climb close to 30C by Sunday, it seems summer is having its final say.

This week, the weather is quite mixed with cloud and outbreaks of rain for some, but more sunshine in the south.

It will generally feel warmer, muggy with highs of 27-28C or more across the south-east on Thursday.

Temperatures have remained a little above average for some of us this week with notably mild nights.

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