Autumn equinox 2024: When is it, why does it happen and what should we pay attention to?

While meteorologists like to call autumn the beginning of September, astronomical autumn begins later, on the autumnal equinoxThis year it falls on Sunday, September 22nd at 8:44 a.m. EDT (12:44 p.m. UTC), according to the National Weather Service.

At this particular time, the Earth's axis is tilted sideways toward the Sun, meaning there is almost equal amounts of sunlight and darkness across the globe.