Daylight hours in San José
San José gets 12h 42m of daylight on its longest day in June, and 11h 33m on its shortest in December — a difference of 1h 09m across the year.
How fast the days change
Around 22 March, San José gains or loses about 0.6 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 America/Costa_Rica local time, daylight saving included.
| Month | Sunrise | Sunset | Daylight | Solar noon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 05:57 | 17:34 | 11h 36m | 11:45 |
| February | 05:55 | 17:45 | 11h 49m | 11:50 |
| March | 05:43 | 17:47 | 12h 04m | 11:45 |
| April | 05:25 | 17:46 | 12h 21m | 11:36 |
| May | 05:15 | 17:50 | 12h 35m | 11:32 |
| June | 05:15 | 17:57 | 12h 42m | 11:36 |
| July | 05:22 | 18:01 | 12h 39m | 11:42 |
| August | 05:27 | 17:54 | 12h 27m | 11:40 |
| September | 05:26 | 17:36 | 12h 11m | 11:31 |
| October | 05:24 | 17:19 | 11h 55m | 11:22 |
| November | 05:30 | 17:10 | 11h 40m | 11:20 |
| December | 05:45 | 17:18 | 11h 33m | 11:31 |
Solstices and equinoxes
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Daylight | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| March equinox | 20 Mar | 05:40 | 17:47 | 12h 07m |
| June solstice | 21 Jun | 05:17 | 17:59 | 12h 42m |
| September equinox | 22 Sep | 05:25 | 17:32 | 12h 07m |
| December solstice | 21 Dec | 05:48 | 17:20 | 11h 33m |
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.
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.