Daylight hours in Cape Town
Cape Town gets 14h 24m of daylight on its longest day in December, and 9h 54m on its shortest in June — a difference of 4h 29m across the year.
How fast the days change
Around 17 March, Cape Town gains or loses about 2.1 minutes of daylight every day.
Enough to notice over a fortnight, though the seasons arrive more gently here than further from the equator.
Sunrise and sunset by month
On the 15th of each month, in Africa/Johannesburg local time, daylight saving included.
| Month | Sunrise | Sunset | Daylight | Solar noon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 05:51 | 20:00 | 14h 09m | 12:55 |
| February | 06:21 | 19:39 | 13h 18m | 13:00 |
| March | 06:45 | 19:04 | 12h 19m | 12:55 |
| April | 07:09 | 18:23 | 11h 15m | 12:46 |
| May | 07:31 | 17:53 | 10h 22m | 12:42 |
| June | 07:49 | 17:43 | 9h 54m | 12:46 |
| July | 07:49 | 17:55 | 10h 06m | 12:52 |
| August | 07:25 | 18:16 | 10h 51m | 12:50 |
| September | 06:45 | 18:37 | 11h 52m | 12:41 |
| October | 06:04 | 18:59 | 12h 55m | 12:32 |
| November | 05:34 | 19:27 | 13h 53m | 12:30 |
| December | 05:29 | 19:53 | 14h 24m | 12:41 |
Solstices and equinoxes
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Daylight | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| March equinox | 20 Mar | 06:49 | 18:57 | 12h 08m |
| June solstice | 21 Jun | 07:51 | 17:44 | 9h 53m |
| September equinox | 22 Sep | 06:35 | 18:42 | 12h 07m |
| December solstice | 21 Dec | 05:31 | 19:56 | 14h 25m |
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 South Africa
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.