A leap year occurs every four years, with the last one being in 2020. Following 2024, the subsequent leap year will be in 2028. This implies that February 2024 will encompass 366 days, as opposed to the standard 365.

When and what is Leap Day?

Leap Day falls on February 29, 2024. Despite February typically having 28 days as the shortest month of the year, it gains an additional day every four years, known as Leap Day.

Why do we have leap days?

While adding a day to the calendar during a leap year may seem routine, its purpose extends beyond mere calendrical adjustment. The extra day is introduced every four years to synchronize Earth's orbit around the sun with the seasons. Earth completes its orbit in just under 365 1/4 days, creating a misalignment with the 365 days in a standard year. Without this adjustment, the equinoxes and solstices would gradually deviate from their seasonal alignment. In the absence of leap years, seasons would undergo a complete swap approximately every 750 years, leading to scenarios like winters occurring in the middle of summer.

How do we determine leap years?

The rule stipulates that a leap year occurs every four years, but additional criteria exist. A year is a leap year if it is fully divisible by four. However, if it is divisible by 100, it is not deemed a leap year unless it is also divisible by 400. For instance, the year 2000 was a leap year, while 2100 will not be considered one.

Why is February 29 Leap Day?

The tradition of designating February 29 as Leap Day traces back to the reforms implemented in the Roman calendar by Julius Caesar. The Roman calendar, with its 355 days, gradually fell out of sync with the solar year, prompting the introduction of the Julian calendar. This solar calendar included a leap year system, and when it evolved into the Gregorian calendar in 1582, the practice of adding a leap day to February endured.