The Chicago area is hitting several key milestones in coming days as the end of daylight saving time rapidly approaches.
Residents have surely noticed that the days are becoming shorter and sunsets are occurring earlier in the day, but the area actually hit a key milestone when it comes to its sunrises on Monday.
According to the website Time and Date, Chicago’s sunrise occurred after 7 a.m. on Monday, marking the first time the city has hit that milestone since March 16, 2025.
That sunrise time will shift back up at the conclusion of daylight saving time, but it will quickly move back past 7 a.m. in December, and will ultimately occur at its latest time of the day in early January before sunrise begins to occur earlier, according to the website.
Another milestone for the Chicago area is rapidly approaching next week, as sunset will occur at 5:59 p.m. on Tuesday, October 21, according to the website. That will mark the first pre-6 p.m. sunset the area has seen since all the way back on March 8, the day before daylight saving time began.
As October ends, Chicago will be seeing 10 hours and 23 minutes of daylight per day, and will be losing more than two minutes of daylight per day.
Daylight saving time’s end marks the next milestone for the area, occurring on Sunday, November 2. On that date, Chicago’s sunset will occur at 4:43 p.m., and by the time the winter solstice arrives on December 21, the sun will be setting at 4:21 p.m. after just over nine hours of daylight.
After that date, the Chicago area’s days will slowly start to get longer, with the resumption of daylight saving time arriving on Sunday, March 8, 2026.