How Many Days Did February Have in 2024?
February in 2024 had 29 days. This is because 2024 is a leap year.
Leap years occur every four years to account for the extra fraction of a day in Earth's orbit around the sun. This extra day is added to February, making it 29 days long instead of the usual 28.
What Makes a Leap Year?
A year is a leap year if it's:
- Divisible by 4, unless it's also divisible by 100.
- Divisible by 400 if it's divisible by 100.
Let's break this down:
- 2024 is divisible by 4 (2024/4 = 506), so it's a leap year.
Therefore, February 2024 had 29 days.
How Often Does February Have 29 Days?
February has 29 days in a leap year, which happens every four years, with the exception of century years not divisible by 400. This means that while most century years (like 1900 and 2100) are not leap years, years divisible by 400 (like 2000 and 2400) are leap years.
This complex system ensures that our calendar stays relatively aligned with the Earth's orbit over the long term.
Why Do We Need Leap Years?
The Earth takes approximately 365.25 days to orbit the sun. A standard calendar year of 365 days doesn't account for that extra quarter of a day. Over time, this discrepancy would accumulate, causing our calendar to drift significantly out of sync with the seasons. Leap years help to correct this drift, keeping our calendar aligned with the astronomical year.
