Longest Day of the Year
The longest day is the solstice, when the sun's path reaches its highest or lowest point and the tilt of the Earth gives one hemisphere its most daylight.
In 2026 the June solstice is 21 June at 08:24 UTC. That is the longest day in London, New York, Paris, and Berlin. The December solstice is 21 December at 20:50 UTC. That is the longest day in Cape Town, Johannesburg, and Sydney. These instants are the astronomical seasons published by timeanddate.
On 21 December 2026, Cape Town's day lasts 14 hours 25 minutes (sunrise 05:31). London's 4 October day is 11 hours 27 minutes, and its December day is the short one: sunrise 08:03, sunset 15:53.
See London, New York, Cape Town, Sydney, and Johannesburg, or go back to sunrise times.