When does spring start?

Spring begins on the vernal equinox, when the Sun crosses the celestial equator and day and night are roughly equal in length. In the Northern Hemisphere this falls around March 20, while in the Southern Hemisphere spring starts around September 22. The exact date can shift by a day depending on the year because Earth's orbit is not a perfect circle.

Meteorologists sometimes use a fixed definition — March 1 through May 31 in the north — but the astronomical equinox is the most widely recognized marker. Many cultures celebrate the equinox as the official start of the growing season, marking the return of longer, warmer days.

Tool description

This tool shows a live countdown to the next spring equinox. It updates every second and displays the remaining days, hours, minutes, and seconds. A hemisphere selector lets you switch between Northern and Southern Hemisphere dates, and a progress bar visualizes how far through the waiting period you are.

Features

  • Live countdown updating every second with days, hours, minutes, and seconds
  • Hemisphere selector to toggle between Northern (March 20) and Southern (September 22) spring dates
  • Progress bar showing percentage of time elapsed since the previous spring ended