Sunrise and sunset in Brazil

Average length of day in Brasilia

      sunshine duration       twilight phase

Sunrise and sunset in the most important cities of Brazil

The cities are ordered by their geographic position from east to west, so in an approximate direction of the sun's course. Since the orbit around the sun is elliptical, sunrise or sunset never happen on a whole longitude at the same time. All data given for May 11th., localtime in Brazil

Sunrise and sunset by month for Brasilia

Where does the sun rise in Brazil?

The sun always rises in the east, everywhere and regardless of the country or continent. The easternmost city in Brazil is Pitimbu in Region Paraiba. There, the sun rises at 5:20 am and sets at 5:10 pm these days. The latest sunset is currently experienced in the west in the city of Mâncio Lima (Acre) at 17:42.

Duration of the sunset

The distance from the equator and the path of the sun determines not only the time of sunrise and sunset. The farther a country is from the equator, the more oblique the sun's path is to the horizon, causing sunset to last for a different duration. Brasilia lies on the 16th degree of southern latitude and thus a good distance from the equator. While a sunset in the northern USA or central Europe can take almost an hour, in Brazil, it lasts only an average of 25 minutes. Brazil is so close to the equator that there is no noticeable difference even between June and December.

The sun between the tropics

The capital Brasilia is located at 16 degrees south latitude and therefore also between the tropics. The sun swings back and forth between them over the course of the year. At the solstice on June 21, it is perpendicular above the northern tropic, and on December 21 above the southern tropic. If a country like Brazil lies between these tropics, the sun crosses its latitude twice a year and then shines vertically from above. For Brasilia, this is on February 6th and November 5th. In between, the sun shines from the north, otherwise from the south. In Rio de Janeiro, around 940 km away, it is January 3rd and December 31st.

Unlike in countries that are far away from the equator, the angle of the sun is quite large here. The sun is much higher in the sky at midday and therefore shines with a high intensity. It has the smallest angle, i.e. the smallest distance from the horizon, at the winter solstice on June 21st. Even at midday, it is only 50.8 degrees above the northern horizon at its zenith. For comparison: in New York, the sun only reaches an angle of 73 degrees at the height of summer.

International cities for comparison