Daylight hours in Cairns
Cairns gets 13h 08m of daylight on its longest day in December, and 11h 07m on its shortest in June — a difference of 2h 00m across the year.
How fast the days change
Around 17 March, Cairns gains or loses about 1.0 minutes of daylight every day.
Barely perceptible — near the equator the length of the day hardly changes at all, and the seasons announce themselves through rain and heat instead.
Sunrise and sunset by month
On the 15th of each month, in Australia/Brisbane local time, daylight saving included.
| Month | Sunrise | Sunset | Daylight | Solar noon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 05:55 | 18:57 | 13h 02m | 12:26 |
| February | 06:11 | 18:50 | 12h 39m | 12:31 |
| March | 06:19 | 18:32 | 12h 12m | 12:25 |
| April | 06:25 | 18:08 | 11h 43m | 12:17 |
| May | 06:33 | 17:53 | 11h 20m | 12:13 |
| June | 06:43 | 17:51 | 11h 07m | 12:17 |
| July | 06:46 | 17:59 | 11h 12m | 12:22 |
| August | 06:35 | 18:07 | 11h 32m | 12:21 |
| September | 06:12 | 18:12 | 11h 59m | 12:12 |
| October | 05:48 | 18:16 | 12h 28m | 12:02 |
| November | 05:34 | 18:28 | 12h 54m | 12:01 |
| December | 05:37 | 18:45 | 13h 08m | 12:11 |
Solstices and equinoxes
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Daylight | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| March equinox | 20 Mar | 06:20 | 18:28 | 12h 07m |
| June solstice | 21 Jun | 06:45 | 17:52 | 11h 07m |
| September equinox | 22 Sep | 06:06 | 18:12 | 12h 06m |
| December solstice | 21 Dec | 05:40 | 18:48 | 13h 08m |
The equinoxes give almost exactly twelve hours of daylight everywhere on earth — "almost" because sunrise is defined by the sun's upper edge rather than its centre, and the atmosphere bends its light over the horizon before it has really arrived. Both lengthen the day by a few minutes.
Other cities in Australia
Assumptions
- Sea-level horizon. Hills, mountains and buildings all delay sunrise and bring sunset forward, sometimes by a lot in a valley.
- Standard refraction. Sunrise is taken at −0.833°, allowing for the sun's disc and average atmospheric bending. Unusual air conditions shift it by a minute or two.
- Local clock time, with daylight saving applied from the IANA timezone database.