This year, the spring equinox falls on Friday, March 20, 2026. It’s a date eagerly anticipated by many French people, who look forward to seeing the trees bloom again and enjoying longer, brighter days. Starting from March 20, 2026, we officially welcome spring, with an average increase of 4 minutes of sunlight per day until June 21, the summer solstice.
But what exactly is the equinox? It's an astronomical moment when the length of day is equal to the length of night. Every year, there are two equinoxes: one between March 19 and 21, when we leave winter and enter spring in the northern hemisphere, and the second between September 21 and 24, when we leave summer and enter autumn, again in the northern hemisphere.
Specifically, the spring equinox aligns with the first day of spring according to the Gregorian calendar. This event signals the end of winter in the northern hemisphere. Conversely, in the southern hemisphere, it marks the start of autumn.
The Spring Equinox 2026 kicks off on Friday, March 20, precisely at 3:45 p.m. (UTC+1), according to the Institute of Celestial Mechanics and Ephemerides Calculation (IMCCE). At this exact moment, the sun will be directly overhead at the Earth's equator. It will rise almost exactly in the east and set directly in the west.
Last year, the spring equinox occurred on the same date – March 20th – but a few hours earlier, at 10:01 a.m. In 2007, the spring equinox instead fell on March 21st, as it did in 2003. So, why do the date and time of this astronomical event shift? To understand this, we need to look at our Gregorian calendar. In our system, a year is 365 days long. However, in reality, the Earth takes exactly 365 days, 5 hours, and 48 minutes to complete one orbit around the Sun.
To compensate for this discrepancy, an extra day is added every four years, known as the leap year. This adjustment shifts the dates and times of the equinoxes slightly. Note that the next spring equinox occurring on March 21 is expected only in 2102, while the one falling on March 19 is projected for 2044, according to the calendar published by IMCCE.
Note that the spring equinox is followed a few days later by the time change to summer time.
Time Change Set for 2026: When Will Summer Time Start?
The days are getting longer, and nights are starting to feel a bit shorter. While the switch to summer time is gradually approaching, we’ll still need to wait a little longer before changing the clocks again. The transition to summer time is scheduled for the night of Saturday, March 28 to Sunday, March 29, 2026. We’ll lose an hour of sleep and will need to set our clocks forward by one hour. [Read more]
