Daylight Hours Calculator
Find out how many hours of daylight any location gets on any date
🌐 UTC,
Thursday, 9 July 2026
0 minutes
Polar night — the sun does not rise on this date.
How does today compare?
| Date | Daylight | Sunrise | Sunset |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thursday, 9 July 2026 | 0 minutes | — | — |
| Summer Solstice 2026 | 0 minutes | — | — |
| Winter Solstice 2026 | 0 minutes | — | — |
| Same date last year | 0 minutes | — | — |
How it works
Daylight hours are not the same everywhere, or on every day of the year. Earth is tilted about 23.5° on its axis as it orbits the Sun, so different hemispheres lean toward or away from the Sun at different times. That tilt is why summer days are longer and winter nights are longer — and why the change is gradual through spring and autumn. This calculator uses the same solar-position algorithm as our Sun Calculator (based on NOAA/USNO methods) with each city's latitude and longitude to work out exactly how many minutes of daylight fall between sunrise and sunset on your chosen date.
Latitude has a dramatic effect on daylight length. Near the equator — in cities like Singapore or Nairobi — day length stays close to 12 hours all year. Move toward the poles and the seasonal swing grows: London gains roughly eight hours of daylight between the winter and summer solstices, while Reykjavik can have nearly 21 hours of light in June and under five in December. Your latitude sets the range of possible daylight; the date tells you where you are within that range.
At extreme latitudes, daylight can behave in remarkable ways. Above the Arctic Circle in summer, the Sun may not set at all — a phenomenon called the midnight sun. In winter, the opposite occurs: polar night, when the Sun stays below the horizon for weeks. This calculator shows these edge cases clearly and lets you compare any date with the summer and winter solstices, or the same date last year, to see how daylight is changing where you live.
Frequently asked questions
How many hours of daylight are there today?
Select your city and leave the date on today (or tap the “Today” quick link). The total daylight hours and minutes appear at the top of the results, along with sunrise and sunset times in local time for that city. Daylight length changes slightly every day as Earth moves along its orbit.
Which day has the most daylight hours?
In the Northern Hemisphere, the summer solstice (around 21 June) has the longest day; in the Southern Hemisphere, that date is the winter solstice with the shortest day. Tap “Summer Solstice” to see the maximum daylight for your location in the current year. High-latitude cities see the biggest totals — sometimes over 20 hours.
Which day has the fewest daylight hours?
The winter solstice (around 21 December in the Northern Hemisphere) has the shortest day and fewest daylight hours. Use the “Winter Solstice” quick link or check the comparison table below the main result. Cities far from the equator can have very short December days — under six hours in some places.
Why do daylight hours change throughout the year?
Earth's 23.5° axial tilt means the Northern and Southern Hemispheres take turns leaning toward the Sun as we orbit. When your hemisphere tilts toward the Sun, days grow longer; when it tilts away, nights grow longer. The change is fastest around the equinoxes (when day and night are nearly equal) and slowest near the solstices.
Does latitude affect how many daylight hours you get?
Yes — latitude is one of the biggest factors. The equator gets roughly 12 hours of daylight year-round. As you move toward the poles, seasonal variation increases. Compare two cities at different latitudes using the location search to see the difference, especially on the solstice quick links.
What is the longest day of the year?
The longest day is the summer solstice — astronomically the moment when the Sun reaches its highest point in the sky for the year, which usually falls on 20, 21, or 22 June in the Northern Hemisphere (and around 21 December in the Southern Hemisphere). It is not always the earliest sunrise or latest sunset; those can differ by a few days due to Earth's elliptical orbit and time-zone rules.