World Day Night Map Live – See Where It's Day or Night Now

The world day night map shows in real time which parts of the Earth are currently in daylight and which are in darkness. As our planet rotates, half of the globe is illuminated by the Sun while the other half experiences night. This live map allows you to instantly see where it's night right now, which countries are in daylight, and how the boundary between light and shadow moves across the planet.

The moving line that separates day from night is called the terminator line. It continuously shifts westward as the Earth rotates, completing a full cycle every 24 hours. Because the Earth is tilted on its axis, the position of the terminator line changes throughout the year, causing seasonal differences in daylight duration between northern and southern latitudes.

This real-time Earth sunlight map also highlights major cities and shows their local daylight status, sunrise and sunset times, and current solar position. You can observe which cities are experiencing sunrise, which are approaching sunset, and where the Sun is directly overhead at the subsolar point.

Whether you are tracking global daylight patterns, planning international calls, studying Earth's rotation, or simply curious about which regions are in darkness, this live day and night map provides an accurate and continuously updated visualization of global sunlight conditions today.

🌅 Sunrise happening now in Zagreb 05:03 ☀️ Longest daylight today Helsinki 18h37 🌙 Deep night Abidjan 03:03 Sun at zenith nearTaipei22.2N, 133.6E

Legend Day Night, most people still awake Night Day/night boundary Sun at zenith

Live map

Today, June 4, among the 301 cities listed on this page, the city with the longest daylight is Helsinki (Finland) with 18h37 of sunlight. The city with the shortest daylight is Melbourne (Australia) with only 9h43. That is a difference of 8h54 between the two extremes, reflecting the dramatic effect of latitude and Earth's axial tilt on daylight duration. In June, the Northern Hemisphere is tilted toward the sun, resulting in long days for cities in Europe, North America, and northern Asia. Cities above 60°N latitude can experience near-continuous daylight. Meanwhile, cities in the Southern Hemisphere — particularly in South America, southern Africa, and Oceania — have shorter days as they move through their winter season.

Sunrise Soon (21)

These cities are currently experiencing civil twilight before sunrise. The sky is brightening, and sunrise will occur within the next few minutes. Civil twilight begins when the sun is 6 degrees below the horizon.

City	Country	Local Time (approx.)	Sunrise	Sunset	Day Length
Zagreb	Croatia	05:03	05:06	20:42	15h37	Sunrise in 3 min
Wolaita Sodo	Ethiopia	06:03	06:11	18:43	12h32	Sunrise in 8 min
Munich	Germany	05:03	05:14	21:10	15h56	Sunrise in 11 min
Antananarivo	Madagascar	06:03	06:15	17:20	11h05	Sunrise in 13 min
Khartoum North	Sudan	05:03	05:16	18:19	13h03	Sunrise in 13 min
Khartoum	Sudan	05:03	05:16	18:19	13h03	Sunrise in 14 min
Omdurman	Sudan	05:03	05:16	18:20	13h03	Sunrise in 14 min
Cologne	Germany	05:03	05:19	21:41	16h23	Sunrise in 16 min
Amsterdam Capital	Netherlands	05:03	05:19	21:57	16h38	Sunrise in 17 min
Mombasa	Kenya	06:03	06:21	18:17	11h56	Sunrise in 18 min
The Hague	Netherlands	05:03	05:23	21:58	16h35	Sunrise in 20 min
Rotterdam	Netherlands	05:03	05:23	21:57	16h33	Sunrise in 21 min
Antwerp	Belgium	05:03	05:27	21:53	16h26	Sunrise in 25 min
Brussels-Capital Region	Belgium	05:03	05:30	21:51	16h22	Sunrise in 27 min
Naples	Italy	05:03	05:30	20:31	15h01	Sunrise in 28 min
Rome Capital	Italy	05:03	05:34	20:42	15h08	Sunrise in 31 min
Milan	Italy	05:03	05:34	21:08	15h34	Sunrise in 31 min
Glasgow	United Kingdom	04:03	04:34	21:56	17h22	Sunrise in 31 min
London Capital	United Kingdom	04:03	04:44	21:13	16h29	Sunrise in 41 min
Birmingham	United Kingdom	04:03	04:46	21:25	16h39	Sunrise in 43 min
Addis Ababa	Ethiopia	06:03	06:03	18:43	12h40

Cities Where It's Day (151)

The sun is currently above the horizon in these cities. Depending on their latitude and the time of year, the length of daylight can vary significantly from one city to another.

City	Country	Local Time (approx.)	Sunrise	Sunset	Day Length
Berlin Capital	Germany	05:03	04:44	21:24	16h40
Vienna Capital	Austria	05:03	04:54	20:51	15h57
Katowice urban area	Poland	05:03	04:34	20:50	16h16
Budapest	Hungary	05:03	04:46	20:37	15h50
City of Belgrade	Serbia	05:03	04:52	20:20	15h29
Prague	Czech Republic	05:03	04:53	21:07	16h14
Stockholm	Sweden	05:03	03:35	21:56	18h20
Oslo	Norway	05:03	03:59	22:31	18h32
Copenhagen	Denmark	05:03	04:28	21:47	17h20
Hamburg	Germany	05:03	04:52	21:44	16h52
Warsaw	Poland	05:03	04:16	20:52	16h36
Belgrade	Serbia	05:03	04:52	20:20	15h29
Gothenburg	Sweden	05:03	04:15	22:05	17h51
Kraków	Poland	05:03	04:31	20:45	16h14
Istanbul	Turkey	06:03	05:31	20:33	15h02
Moscow Capital	Russia	06:03	03:47	21:08	17h21
Cairo Capital	Egypt	06:03	05:52	19:54	14h02
Baghdad	Iraq	06:03	04:51	19:09	14h18
Riyadh	Saudi Arabia	06:03	05:02	18:40	13h38
Amman	Jordan	06:03	05:29	19:40	14h11
Kuwait City	Kuwait	06:03	04:47	18:45	13h59
Sanaa	Yemen	06:03	05:30	18:32	13h02
Kyiv	Ukraine	06:03	04:47	21:05	16h18
Damascus	Syria	06:03	05:23	19:42	14h19
Waqooyi-Bari	Somalia	06:03	05:24	18:04	12h40
Minsk	Belarus	06:03	04:40	21:36	16h56
Bucharest	Romania	06:03	05:31	20:56	15h26
Sofia	Bulgaria	06:03	05:48	21:01	15h13
Doha	Qatar	06:03	04:41	18:22	13h41
Asmara	Eritrea	06:03	05:51	18:53	13h02
Jerusalem	Israel	06:03	05:32	19:42	14h10
Helsinki	Finland	06:03	03:59	22:37	18h37
Athens	Greece	06:03	06:01	20:45	14h43
Djibouti City	Djibouti	06:03	05:41	18:30	12h49
Riga	Latvia	06:03	04:32	22:11	17h39
Gaza City	Palestine	06:03	05:36	19:44	14h09
Vilnius	Lithuania	06:03	04:44	21:50	17h06
Chișinău	Moldova	06:03	05:09	20:56	15h46
Ankara	Turkey	06:03	05:19	20:14	14h55
Saint Petersburg	Russia	06:03	03:40	22:13	18h33
Alexandria	Egypt	06:03	05:55	20:02	14h07
Jeddah	Saudi Arabia	06:03	05:38	19:04	13h25
Mogadishu	Somalia	06:03	05:48	18:05	12h16
Aleppo	Syria	06:03	05:13	19:46	14h33
Irbid	Jordan	06:03	05:27	19:41	14h14
Mosul	Iraq	06:03	04:48	19:22	14h34
Kharkiv	Ukraine	06:03	04:26	20:39	16h13
Aden	Yemen	06:03	05:31	18:24	12h53
Gomel	Belarus	06:03	04:35	21:13	16h39
İzmir	Turkey	06:03	05:46	20:32	14h46
Giza	Egypt	06:03	05:52	19:54	14h02
Medina	Saudi Arabia	06:03	05:31	19:08	13h37
Basra	Iraq	06:03	04:45	18:49	14h04
Odesa	Ukraine	06:03	05:04	20:46	15h42
Homs	Syria	06:03	05:18	19:44	14h25
Al Hudaydah	Yemen	06:03	05:36	18:36	13h00
Bursa	Turkey	06:03	05:33	20:30	14h57
New Cairo	Egypt	06:03	05:51	19:53	14h02
Kirkuk	Iraq	06:03	04:46	19:15	14h29
Dnipro	Ukraine	06:03	04:38	20:37	15h59
Dammam	Saudi Arabia	06:03	04:45	18:30	13h46
Latakia	Syria	06:03	05:20	19:49	14h30
Tehran	Iran	06:33	04:47	19:17	14h30
Isfahan	Iran	06:33	04:54	19:08	14h15
Ahvaz	Iran	06:33	05:09	19:17	14h08
Kermanshah	Iran	06:33	05:08	19:31	14h23
Dubai	United Arab Emirates	07:03	05:26	19:07	13h41
Baku	Azerbaijan	07:03	05:10	20:07	14h58
Muscat	Oman	07:03	05:17	18:50	13h34
Tbilisi	Georgia	07:03	05:25	20:32	15h07
Yerevan	Armenia	07:03	05:31	20:28	14h57
Abu Dhabi	United Arab Emirates	07:03	05:32	19:09	13h37
Sharjah	United Arab Emirates	07:03	05:26	19:07	13h41
Al Ain	United Arab Emirates	07:03	05:27	19:03	13h36
Kabul Capital	Afghanistan	07:33	04:39	19:03	14h24
Kandahar	Afghanistan	07:33	05:00	19:10	14h09
Herat	Afghanistan	07:33	05:07	19:31	14h23
Lahore	Pakistan	08:03	04:56	19:05	14h09
Tashkent	Uzbekistan	08:03	04:49	19:53	15h04
Almaty	Kazakhstan	08:03	04:12	19:29	15h17
Ashgabat	Turkmenistan	08:03	05:43	20:26	14h43
Dushanbe	Tajikistan	08:03	04:59	19:46	14h47
Faisalabad	Pakistan	08:03	05:01	19:10	14h08
Shymkent	Kazakhstan	08:03	04:44	19:55	15h11
Namangan	Uzbekistan	08:03	04:40	19:42	15h02
Rawalpindi	Pakistan	08:03	04:56	19:15	14h19
Astana	Kazakhstan	08:03	04:00	20:24	16h24
Andijan	Uzbekistan	08:03	04:38	19:39	15h00
Gujranwala	Pakistan	08:03	04:55	19:07	14h12
Yekaterinburg	Russia	08:03	04:07	21:44	17h37
Delhi Capital	India	08:33	05:21	19:17	13h56
Colombo	Sri Lanka	08:33	05:52	18:25	12h33
Mumbai	India	08:33	05:58	19:14	13h16
Bengaluru	India	08:33	05:51	18:44	12h54
Hyderabad	India	08:33	05:39	18:49	13h09
Kathmandu	Nepal	08:48	05:06	18:57	13h51
Lalitpur	Nepal	08:48	05:06	18:57	13h51
Dhaka Capital	Bangladesh	09:03	05:09	18:43	13h34
Bishkek	Kyrgyzstan	09:03	05:22	20:37	15h14
Chittagong	Bangladesh	09:03	05:06	18:35	13h29
Khulna	Bangladesh	09:03	05:14	18:45	13h31
Yangon	Myanmar	09:33	05:30	18:37	13h07
Mandalay	Myanmar	09:33	05:20	18:47	13h27
Naypyidaw	Myanmar	09:33	05:24	18:43	13h18
Ho Chi Minh City	Vietnam	10:03	05:28	18:14	12h46
Jakarta Capital	Indonesia	10:03	05:56	17:45	11h49
Bangkok	Thailand	10:03	05:48	18:44	12h56
Phnom Penh	Cambodia	10:03	05:34	18:22	12h49
Hanoi	Vietnam	10:03	05:13	18:36	13h23
Chiang Mai	Thailand	10:03	05:45	18:59	13h15
Pekanbaru	Indonesia	10:03	06:06	18:18	12h11
Cần Thơ	Vietnam	10:03	05:34	18:18	12h44
Novosibirsk	Russia	10:03	04:51	22:01	17h10
Bandar Lampung	Indonesia	10:03	06:01	17:53	11h52
Haiphong	Vietnam	10:03	05:10	18:32	13h22
Chengdu	China	11:03	05:59	20:04	14h05
Kuala Lumpur	Malaysia	11:03	07:01	19:21	12h20
Singapore	Singapore	11:03	06:56	19:10	12h14
New Taipei	Taiwan	11:03	05:02	18:42	13h40
Quezon City	Philippines	11:03	05:24	18:23	12h59
Ulaanbaatar	Mongolia	11:03	04:53	20:47	15h54
Guangzhou	China	11:03	05:39	19:11	13h32
Taichung	Taiwan	11:03	05:07	18:43	13h36
Manila	Philippines	11:03	05:24	18:24	12h59
Klang	Malaysia	11:03	07:02	19:22	12h20
Shanghai	China	11:03	04:48	18:56	14h07
Kaohsiung	Taiwan	11:03	05:12	18:41	13h30
Davao City	Philippines	11:03	05:19	17:52	12h33
Ipoh	Malaysia	11:03	07:01	19:26	12h25
Beijing Capital	China	11:03	04:45	19:40	14h55
Taipei	Taiwan	11:03	05:02	18:41	13h40
Perth	Australia	11:03	07:08	17:20	10h12
Caloocan	Philippines	11:03	05:24	18:24	12h59
Johor Bahru	Malaysia	11:03	06:56	19:10	12h14
Xuchang	China	11:03	05:12	19:33	14h21
Tokyo Capital	Japan	12:03	04:24	18:54	14h30
Seoul Capital	South Korea	12:03	05:09	19:50	14h41
Pyongyang	North Korea	12:03	05:10	19:59	14h49
Yokohama	Japan	12:03	04:25	18:54	14h29
Busan	South Korea	12:03	05:08	19:35	14h27
Hamhung	North Korea	12:03	05:00	19:55	14h55
Incheon	South Korea	12:03	05:11	19:51	14h40
Osaka	Japan	12:03	04:43	19:08	14h25
Chongjin	North Korea	12:03	04:45	19:52	15h07
Daegu	South Korea	12:03	05:08	19:39	14h31
Nagoya	Japan	12:03	04:36	19:04	14h27
Melbourne	Australia	13:03	07:26	17:10	9h43
Sydney	Australia	13:03	06:51	16:55	10h03
Brisbane	Australia	13:03	06:30	17:02	10h32
Auckland	New Zealand	15:03	07:25	17:13	9h48
Calgary	Canada	21:03	05:23	21:45	16h23

Sunset Soon (0)

The sun is still above the horizon in these cities but will set within the next 30 minutes. Enjoy the golden hour!

No cities in this category right now.

Just After Sunset (2)

These cities have just seen the sun set and are in civil twilight. There is still enough natural light for outdoor activities, but the sky is darkening rapidly. Civil twilight ends when the sun drops 6 degrees below the horizon.

City	Country	Local Time (approx.)	Sunrise	Sunset	Day Length
Los Angeles	United States	20:03	05:40	20:01	14h21
Tijuana	Mexico	20:03	05:39	19:53	14h14

Cities Where It's Night (127)

It is currently nighttime in these cities. The sun has fully set and civil twilight has ended, meaning the sky is dark. Depending on the time of year and latitude, some cities experience very long or very short nights.

City	Country	Local Time (approx.)	Sunrise	Sunset	Day Length
São Paulo	Brazil	00:03	06:41	17:28	10h47
Buenos Aires Capital	Argentina	00:03	07:52	17:51	9h59
Montevideo	Uruguay	00:03	07:44	17:42	9h58
Rio de Janeiro	Brazil	00:03	06:26	17:16	10h50
Córdoba	Argentina	00:03	08:07	18:22	10h14
Brasília Capital	Brazil	00:03	06:31	17:47	11h16
Rosario	Argentina	00:03	07:57	18:04	10h07
Fortaleza	Brazil	00:03	05:33	17:31	11h57
Abidjan	Ivory Coast	03:03	06:00	18:28	12h27
Bamako	Mali	03:03	06:04	18:56	12h52
Kumasi	Ghana	03:03	05:48	18:20	12h32
Ouagadougou	Burkina Faso	03:03	05:38	18:30	12h51
Lomé	Togo	03:03	05:38	18:08	12h30
Conakry	Guinea	03:03	06:32	19:13	12h41
Dakar	Senegal	03:03	06:38	19:37	13h00
Nouakchott	Mauritania	03:03	06:26	19:38	13h12
Monrovia	Liberia	03:03	06:26	18:56	12h31
Freetown	Sierra Leone	03:03	06:32	19:10	12h38
Tamale	Ghana	03:03	05:41	18:22	12h41
Pikine	Senegal	03:03	06:38	19:37	13h00
Bobo-Dioulasso	Burkina Faso	03:03	05:51	18:39	12h47
Bouaké	Ivory Coast	03:03	06:00	18:36	12h35
Accra	Ghana	03:03	05:45	18:13	12h28
Touba	Senegal	03:03	06:31	19:32	13h00
Kinshasa	Democratic Republic of the Congo	04:03	05:59	17:54	11h55
Lagos	Nigeria	04:03	06:29	19:00	12h31
Casablanca	Morocco	04:03	06:19	20:38	14h19
Douala	Cameroon	04:03	06:08	18:31	12h23
Luanda	Angola	04:03	06:15	17:55	11h40
Algiers Capital	Algeria	04:03	05:27	20:04	14h37
Brazzaville	Republic of the Congo	04:03	05:59	17:54	11h55
Niamey	Niger	04:03	06:22	19:17	12h55
N'Djamena	Chad	04:03	05:32	18:23	12h50
Libreville	Gabon	04:03	06:15	18:25	12h11
Bangui	Central African Republic	04:03	05:32	17:56	12h24
Tunis	Tunisia	04:03	04:59	19:35	14h37
Lisbon Capital	Portugal	04:03	06:11	20:58	14h48
Dublin	Ireland	04:03	04:58	21:48	16h50
Kano	Nigeria	04:03	05:59	18:49	12h50
Yaoundé	Cameroon	04:03	06:01	18:23	12h22
Pointe-Noire	Republic of the Congo	04:03	06:14	18:07	11h54
Tangier	Morocco	04:03	06:06	20:37	14h31
Lubango	Angola	04:03	06:24	17:43	11h19
Oran	Algeria	04:03	05:45	20:16	14h31
Dublin City	Ireland	04:03	04:58	21:48	16h50
Port Harcourt	Nigeria	04:03	06:17	18:42	12h25
Kananga	Democratic Republic of the Congo	04:03	05:33	17:23	11h50
Garoua	Cameroon	04:03	05:44	18:25	12h41
Fez	Morocco	04:03	06:07	20:29	14h22
Huambo	Angola	04:03	06:12	17:38	11h27
Ibadan	Nigeria	04:03	06:25	18:59	12h34
Marrakesh	Morocco	04:03	06:25	20:35	14h10
Cabinda	Angola	04:03	06:14	18:05	11h51
Johannesburg	South Africa	05:03	06:47	17:24	10h37
Madrid Capital	Spain	05:03	06:44	21:42	14h58
Lusaka	Zambia	05:03	06:26	17:43	11h18
Harare	Zimbabwe	05:03	06:19	17:28	11h09
Paris Capital	France	05:03	05:47	21:50	16h03
Kigali	Rwanda	05:03	05:56	17:59	12h03
Tripoli	Libya	05:03	05:57	20:13	14h16
Maputo	Mozambique	05:03	06:29	17:07	10h38
Lilongwe	Malawi	05:03	06:01	17:24	11h23
Bujumbura	Burundi	05:03	06:01	18:00	11h58
Juba	South Sudan	05:03	05:39	18:04	12h26
Cape Town	South Africa	05:03	07:43	17:46	10h03
Mbuji-Mayi	Democratic Republic of the Congo	05:03	06:29	18:18	11h49
Barcelona	Spain	05:03	06:17	21:21	15h05
Masvingo	Zimbabwe	05:03	06:24	17:25	11h01
Matola	Mozambique	05:03	06:29	17:07	10h38
Marseille	France	05:03	05:58	21:15	15h18
Blantyre	Malawi	05:03	06:00	17:16	11h16
Benghazi	Libya	05:03	05:32	19:44	14h12
Kitwe	Zambia	05:03	06:22	17:48	11h27
Soweto	South Africa	05:03	06:48	17:25	10h37
Valencia	Spain	05:03	06:33	21:25	14h52
Nampula	Mozambique	05:03	05:41	17:00	11h19
Bulawayo	Zimbabwe	05:03	06:33	17:34	11h00
Ndola	Zambia	05:03	06:20	17:46	11h26
Toulouse	France	05:03	06:12	21:32	15h20
Lubumbashi	Democratic Republic of the Congo	05:03	06:23	17:53	11h31
Turin	Italy	05:03	05:42	21:13	15h31
Pretoria	South Africa	05:03	06:46	17:24	10h39
Zaragoza	Spain	05:03	06:28	21:35	15h06
Nairobi	Kenya	06:03	06:28	18:33	12h05
Dar es Salaam	Tanzania	06:03	06:27	18:14	11h47
Kampala	Uganda	06:03	06:42	18:53	12h11
Zanzibar City	Tanzania	06:03	06:27	18:16	11h49
Mbale City	Uganda	06:03	06:35	18:48	12h13
Mwanza	Tanzania	06:03	06:46	18:47	12h01
Mexico City Capital	Mexico	21:03	05:56	19:13	13h17
Tegucigalpa	Honduras	21:03	05:18	18:15	12h57
Guatemala City	Guatemala	21:03	05:30	18:29	12h59
Managua	Nicaragua	21:03	05:18	18:08	12h50
San Pedro Sula	Honduras	21:03	05:19	18:21	13h02
Mixco	Guatemala	21:03	05:31	18:30	12h59
León de Los Aldama	Mexico	21:03	06:03	19:26	13h24
Puebla City	Mexico	21:03	05:53	19:08	13h16
Lima Capital	Peru	22:03	06:21	17:51	11h29
Bogotá	Colombia	22:03	05:42	18:06	12h25
Guayaquil	Ecuador	22:03	06:16	18:18	12h02
Kingston Capital	Jamaica	22:03	05:29	18:41	13h11
Medellín	Colombia	22:03	05:45	18:15	12h30
Quito	Ecuador	22:03	06:07	18:16	12h09
Arequipa	Peru	22:03	06:07	17:21	11h14
Chicago	United States	22:03	05:15	20:22	15h07
Cali	Colombia	22:03	05:53	18:14	12h21
Trujillo	Peru	22:03	06:23	18:05	11h43
Barranquilla	Colombia	22:03	05:34	18:20	12h46
New York City	United States	23:03	05:24	20:23	14h59
Santiago Capital	Chile	23:03	07:38	17:43	10h06
Santa Cruz de la Sierra	Bolivia	23:03	06:36	17:45	11h09
Toronto	Canada	23:03	05:36	20:55	15h19
Havana	Cuba	23:03	06:41	20:13	13h32
Caracas	Venezuela	23:03	06:03	18:48	12h45
Santo Domingo	Dominican Republic	23:03	06:01	19:14	13h13
Port-au-Prince	Haiti	23:03	06:10	19:24	13h14
Montreal	Canada	23:03	05:06	20:39	15h33
Maracaibo	Venezuela	23:03	06:22	19:07	12h45
Santiago de los Caballeros	Dominican Republic	23:03	06:02	19:19	13h17
El Alto	Bolivia	23:03	06:53	18:07	11h14
Puente Alto	Chile	23:03	07:38	17:42	10h05
Carrefour	Haiti	23:03	06:11	19:24	13h14
Valencia	Venezuela	23:03	06:08	18:51	12h44
La Paz	Bolivia	23:03	06:53	18:07	11h14
Houston	United States	23:03	07:19	21:19	14h00
Maracay	Venezuela	23:03	06:06	18:50	12h44
Ottawa Capital	Canada	23:03	05:14	20:47	15h33

Understanding the World Day and Night Map

The world day and night map shows which parts of the Earth are currently in daylight and which are in darkness. The moving boundary between light and shadow is known as the terminator line. This line constantly shifts as the Earth rotates, completing a full cycle every 24 hours.

Because the Earth is tilted at approximately 23.5 degrees on its axis, the distribution of daylight is not the same throughout the year. Around the equinoxes (March and September), day and night are nearly equal worldwide. However, near the summer and winter solstices, daylight hours vary significantly depending on latitude.

Why does latitude affect daylight?

Cities located near the equator experience almost equal day and night all year long. For example, cities like Singapore or Quito have roughly 12 hours of daylight daily.

In contrast, cities at higher latitudes experience strong seasonal variation. In June, northern cities such as Stockholm, Oslo, or Edmonton enjoy very long evenings, sometimes with sunlight lasting close to midnight. Above the Arctic Circle, the sun may not set at all — a phenomenon known as the midnight sun.

During winter, the opposite occurs. Some northern cities experience extremely short days, and regions above the Arctic Circle can enter polar night, when the sun does not rise for days or even weeks.

What determines sunrise and sunset times?

Sunrise and sunset depend on:

Latitude
Longitude
Date of the year
Earth's axial tilt
Atmospheric refraction

This map calculates daylight conditions for major cities in real time using astronomical formulas. Each city is classified as:

Day – Sun above the horizon
Night – Sun below the horizon
Dawn – Civil twilight before sunrise
Dusk – Civil twilight after sunset

Why daylight duration matters

Daylight duration influences climate, daily routines, tourism, and even mental health. Long summer evenings encourage outdoor activities in northern cities, while shorter winter days can affect energy use and lifestyle patterns.

Understanding global daylight patterns is useful for:

Planning international calls
Scheduling travel
Studying seasonal variations
Comparing cities by latitude
Exploring time zone differences

How does this map work?

The day/night boundary (called the terminator) is drawn using the Leaflet.Terminator library, which computes the solar position in real time based on the current date, time, and Earth's axial tilt. For each city, sunrise and sunset times are calculated server-side using PHP's date_sun_info() function with the city's geographic coordinates. Cities are classified as Day, Night, Dawn (civil twilight before sunrise), or Dusk (civil twilight after sunset).

What is the subsolar point?

The subsolar point (marked with a sun icon on the map) is the exact location on Earth where the sun is directly overhead — at its zenith, 90 degrees above the horizon. At this point, objects cast no shadow.

This point moves continuously: its longitude follows the sun's apparent westward motion (completing a full circle every 24 hours), while its latitude oscillates between 23.5°N and 23.5°S throughout the year, following the sun's declination.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is it night right now in the world?

Night currently covers approximately half of the Earth at any given moment. The exact regions in darkness depend on the Earth's rotation and the current UTC time.

Why are summer days longer in northern cities?

Northern cities experience longer summer days because the Earth's axial tilt causes the Northern Hemisphere to lean toward the Sun around June, increasing daylight hours.

Which cities have the longest daylight in June?

Cities located far north, such as Reykjavik, Tromsø, and Anchorage, experience extremely long daylight hours near the summer solstice.

Do cities near the equator have equal day and night?

Yes. Cities close to the equator experience nearly 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of darkness throughout the year.

What is the sun icon on the map?

The sun icon marks the subsolar point — the exact spot on Earth where the sun is directly overhead (at its zenith). This point moves westward as the Earth rotates and shifts north or south with the seasons.