Winter darkness looms as Ottawa nears a sunset milestone
Sunday will see the capital city’s last 4:30 p.m sunset until the new year
The steady march toward a dark winter continues across eastern Ontario this weekend as folks around the National Capital Region prepare for their final 4:30 p.m. sunset of the season.
Sunday will feature Ottawa’s last 4:30 p.m. sunset until Jan. 1, 2025, with the amount of daylight gradually shortening each day through the winter solstice next month.
DON’T MISS: Why you should take 10 minutes out of your day to watch the sunset
We’re currently losing about two minutes of light per day as the Sun’s direct rays slip deeper into the southern hemisphere. This loss of light stems from the sunrise creeping about one minute later—and the sunrise inching about one minute earlier—each day through the middle of November.
The sunset in Ottawa will continue falling earlier every day through the second week of December, bottoming-out with a 4:19 p.m. sunset beginning on Dec. 5 and lasting through Dec. 13.
The capital city’s shortest day of the year will occur with the winter solstice on Dec. 21. We’ll see a sunrise at 7:39 a.m. with a sunset at 4:22 p.m., giving Ottawa just shy of 8 hours and 43 minutes of daylight on that inaugural day of astronomical winter.
It’s a good idea to make sure you boost your vitamin D around this time of year—even full sunshine is quite weak for the next few months. The sun will only climb about 25° above the horizon on Sunday, and the angle will decline down to about 21° in time for the solstice next month.
If you’re looking for a tropical escape, Miami, Florida, is in line for 10 hours and 50 minutes of sunshine on Sunday. The sun rises there at 6:40 a.m. and doesn’t set until 5:30 p.m. Ottawa won’t see a 5:30 p.m. sunset again until Feb. 15.
Things could always be worse. The sun slipped below the horizon in Alert, Nunavut, on Oct. 14, and it won’t rise there again until Feb. 27.
Header image submitted by Janet Stephens.
