Daylight hours in Pretoria
Pretoria gets 13h 44m of daylight on its longest day in December, and 10h 32m on its shortest in June — a difference of 3h 12m across the year.
How fast the days change
Around 17 March, Pretoria gains or loses about 1.5 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 Africa/Johannesburg local time, daylight saving included.
| Month | Sunrise | Sunset | Daylight | Solar noon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 05:29 | 19:03 | 13h 34m | 12:16 |
| February | 05:52 | 18:49 | 12h 57m | 12:21 |
| March | 06:08 | 18:23 | 12h 15m | 12:16 |
| April | 06:22 | 17:51 | 11h 29m | 12:07 |
| May | 06:37 | 17:29 | 10h 52m | 12:03 |
| June | 06:51 | 17:23 | 10h 32m | 12:07 |
| July | 06:52 | 17:33 | 10h 41m | 12:13 |
| August | 06:35 | 17:48 | 11h 13m | 12:11 |
| September | 06:04 | 18:00 | 11h 56m | 12:02 |
| October | 05:32 | 18:13 | 12h 41m | 11:53 |
| November | 05:10 | 18:32 | 13h 22m | 11:51 |
| December | 05:10 | 18:54 | 13h 44m | 12:02 |
Solstices and equinoxes
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Daylight | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| March equinox | 20 Mar | 06:10 | 18:18 | 12h 08m |
| June solstice | 21 Jun | 06:53 | 17:24 | 10h 32m |
| September equinox | 22 Sep | 05:56 | 18:03 | 12h 07m |
| December solstice | 21 Dec | 05:12 | 18:57 | 13h 45m |
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.