{
  "id": 8239481,
  "title": "Fall Equinox 2026: When Is the First Day of Autumn?",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/18/fall-equinox-2026-when-is-the-first-day-of-autumn",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-09-18T12:11:48.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Tempo.co English",
    "slug": "tempo-co-english",
    "url": "https://en.tempo.co/read/2119873/fall-equinox-2026-when-is-the-first-day-of-autumn"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Fall officially arrives in the Northern Hemisphere with the autumnal equinox, signaling the start of astronomical autumn. This celestial event occurs when the Sun's center crosses Earth's equator, resulting in nearly equal day and night lengths. While the summer and winter solstices have longer days and nights, respectively, the fall and spring equinoxes share more daylight.\n\nFor 2026, the autumnal equinox falls on Tuesday, September 22, at 8:05 p.m. ET, according to NASA. This date usually ranges between September 22 and 24. There are two equinoxes each year - one in early March marking the start of spring and the other in September heralding the first day of fall.\n\nAcross the United States, leaves begin to transform colors from late September to mid-October. While some regions may experience the change as early as November, others in southern California, most of the South, southern Texas, and Florida may not witness the color shift until December. Winter officially begins on Monday, December 21, at 10:03 a.m. ET, following the winter solstice, which marks the shortest day of the year.",
  "summary": "As summer winds down, the seasonal shift officially arrives with the fall equinox, marking the beginning of astronomical autumn.",
  "key_points": [
    "Autumnal equinox occurs on September 22, 2026",
    "Marks start of astronomical autumn in Northern Hemisphere",
    "Day and night lengths become nearly equal"
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}