News > How the Earth’s tilt creates short, cold January days

How the Earth’s tilt creates short, cold January days

Above the equator, winter officially begins in December. But in many areas, January is when it really takes hold. As the Earth orbits the sun, it spins around an axis from the North Pole to the South Pole. During the 24 hours that it takes for the Earth to rotate once around its axis, every point on its surface faces toward the Sun for part of the time and away from it for part of the time. This is what causes daily changes in sunlight and temperature.