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Earliest Sunset in Fairbanks, AK: 2:40 pm on Dec 18, 2026

At Fairbanks, Alaska, the earliest sunset of the year is about 2:40 pm (local time), on or around Dec 18. The latest sunrise comes later, at about 10:59 am on or around Dec 24. The shortest day is the winter solstice, Dec 21, with 3 h 43 min of daylight.
2:40 pmearliest sunset (Dec 18)
10:59 amlatest sunrise (Dec 24)
3 h 43 minshortest day (Dec 21)
5:32 pm → 4:29 pmsunset Oct 31 → Nov 1, 2026

What happens to sunset when the clocks change (Nov 1, 2026)

Daylight saving time ends at 2:00 am on Sunday, Nov 1, 2026. At Fairbanks, sunset on Saturday, Oct 31 is 5:32 pm. On Sunday, Nov 1 it is 4:29 pm, which is 63 minutes earlier on the clock (one hour from the clock change plus about 3 minutes of normal seasonal change). Sunrise moves from 9:37 am to 8:40 am.

Why the earliest sunset is not on the shortest day

At this latitude the sun sets earliest around Dec 18, about 3 days before the winter solstice, and rises latest around Dec 24, about 3 days after it. In December, solar noon slides a little later on the clock each day (about half a minute per day), which shifts sunsets later while the days are still getting shorter. More on the 2026 findings. Within a minute of that time from Dec 15 to Dec 21.

When does the sun set after 5 pm again?

Sunset at Fairbanks stays before 5:00 pm until about Feb 9 (2027), and it is first at or after 5:00 pm that day, based on our calculation.

Sunrise and sunset, winter 2026–27, Fairbanks

DateSunriseSunsetDaylight
Oct 31, 20269:37 am5:32 pm7 h 56 min
Nov 1, 20268:40 am4:29 pm7 h 49 min
Nov 15, 20269:28 am3:44 pm6 h 16 min
Dec 1, 202610:20 am3:01 pm4 h 41 min
Dec 15, 202610:52 am2:41 pm3 h 49 min
Dec 21, 202610:58 am2:41 pm3 h 43 min
Jan 1, 202710:54 am2:57 pm4 h 02 min
Jan 15, 202710:27 am3:36 pm5 h 09 min
Feb 1, 20279:37 am4:34 pm6 h 58 min
Feb 15, 20278:50 am5:23 pm8 h 33 min
Mar 1, 20278:01 am6:08 pm10 h 08 min
Mar 13, 20277:17 am6:46 pm11 h 29 min

Local time (America/Anchorage). Computed for the station coordinates (64.80, -147.88).

Nearby places

These times repeat almost exactly each year (in our checks the earliest-sunset clock time did not change by even a minute from 2025 to 2029). Computed by Earliest Sunset; how we calculate this. Your exact spot, hills, buildings and elevation can shift what you see; this is the time the sun’s upper edge touches the flat horizon.

Long, dark evenings mean more heating. Heat pump vs gas furnace, propane and oil: heating cost in Alaska (on our sister site PlugVsPump, from EIA prices).