Spring equinox 2025: What is it and why are there different dates for the start of spring?

March marks the beginning of spring in the UK

This week is the spring equinox, which marks the beginning of the season known for sunshine, blue skies, warmer weather and colourful plants growing in lots of gardens and green spaces.

But you may have heard spring begins on the 1 March which has already come and gone, so why do we have two different dates?

It's because there are two separate spring seasons.

The first is known as the meteorological season, which begins at the beginning of March.

The second is called the astronomical season which starts on the 20 March.

Read on to find out more.

What is the spring equinox and how does this tie in with the astronomical season?

The world 'equinox' comes from a language called Latin and means 'equal night'.

The equinox actually happens twice a year - in March and in September.

On the date of the spring equinox, the Earth's axis isn't tilted towards or away from the Sun as it usually is, and this means the day and night are nearly equal in length.

The equinox happens at exactly the same time for everyone on the planet.

However, the seasons are reversed for people living in the southern hemisphere, or south of the equator, which means their equinox on the 20 March is the first day of autumn.

The start of the astronomical season begins on the date of the spring equinox.

This falls on 20 March in 2025, and will last until what's known as the summer solstice on 21 June.

During this period, the days will be longer than the nights.

What is the meteorological season?

Rabbits are one of the animals seen more often during spring

Weather forecasters split the year into four seasons made up of three full months each.

This helps them to easily compare seasons from one year to the next as the dates stay exactly the same.

That means every year spring begins on 1 March and lasts until 31 May.

In comparison, the dates for the astronomical season can change year to year.

According to the meteorological season, spring has already begun.