Daylight hours in Soweto
Soweto gets 13h 46m of daylight on its longest day in December, and 10h 30m on its shortest in June — a difference of 3h 16m across the year.
How fast the days change
Around 17 March, Soweto gains or loses about 1.6 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 Africa/Johannesburg local time, daylight saving included.
| Month | Sunrise | Sunset | Daylight | Solar noon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 05:30 | 19:05 | 13h 36m | 12:17 |
| February | 05:53 | 18:51 | 12h 58m | 12:22 |
| March | 06:09 | 18:25 | 12h 16m | 12:17 |
| April | 06:24 | 17:52 | 11h 28m | 12:08 |
| May | 06:39 | 17:29 | 10h 50m | 12:04 |
| June | 06:54 | 17:24 | 10h 30m | 12:09 |
| July | 06:55 | 17:33 | 10h 39m | 12:14 |
| August | 06:37 | 17:48 | 11h 11m | 12:13 |
| September | 06:05 | 18:01 | 11h 56m | 12:03 |
| October | 05:33 | 18:15 | 12h 42m | 11:54 |
| November | 05:11 | 18:35 | 13h 24m | 11:53 |
| December | 05:10 | 18:56 | 13h 46m | 12:03 |
Solstices and equinoxes
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Daylight | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| March equinox | 20 Mar | 06:12 | 18:19 | 12h 08m |
| June solstice | 21 Jun | 06:55 | 17:25 | 10h 29m |
| September equinox | 22 Sep | 05:58 | 18:04 | 12h 07m |
| December solstice | 21 Dec | 05:13 | 19:00 | 13h 47m |
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.