How Long After Sunset Does It Get Dark?

In most of the United States it gets dark about 30 minutes after sunset, when you need a light to be outside, and the sky is completely dark about 1½ to 2 hours after sunset. Near the equator both come sooner, in about 20 minutes and a little over an hour. Far from it they come later, above all in summer: in London from late May to late July the Sun never sinks far enough for a truly black sky.

What Time Does It Get Dark Tonight?

So how long does it take where you are? Here are tonight’s sunset, dark and night times for your city. Type any other city to see its times.

Sunset, Dark and Night Are Three Different Moments

Sunset is the moment the top edge of the Sun disappears below the horizon. The sky is still bright at that point, because the Sun keeps lighting the air above you for a long while. As it sinks, the light fades in three stages, or twilights, each ending when the Sun is another 6° lower:

• Civil twilight is the first part, usually 20 to 40 minutes. There is still enough light to walk, read a sign or play outside. When it ends, you need a light outdoors and the first bright stars and planets appear. On our place pages this is the time shown as Dark (astronomers mark it when the Sun is 6° below the horizon).
• Nautical twilight comes next. It is too dark to read outside, but trees and rooftops still stand out against the sky, and at sea you can still see the horizon (Sun 12° below).
• Astronomical twilight is the last part. When it ends, the sky is as dark as it gets and, away from city lights, you can see the faintest stars. On our place pages this is the time shown as Night (Sun 18° below).

These three limits are the definitions used by the U.S. Naval Observatory and by astronomers everywhere. So “how long after sunset does it get dark” has two honest answers: how long until you need a light, and how long until the sky is truly black.

How Long After Sunset It Gets Dark Around the World

The table shows both answers for ten cities, from Iceland to Australia, on the four key dates of this year.

How long after sunset it gets dark and how long until night, 2026

City	March 20–21 equinox	June 21 solstice	September 22–23 equinox	December 21–22 solstice
Reykjavík 64° N	Dark 48 min Night 2 h 53 min	Light all night	Dark 48 min Night 2 h 52 min	Dark 1 h 19 min Night 3 h 28 min
Anchorage 61° N	Dark 43 min Night 2 h 34 min	Light all night	Dark 43 min Night 2 h 32 min	Dark 1 h 2 min Night 2 h 56 min
London 52° N	Dark 33 min Night 1 h 54 min	Dark 48 min Night none	Dark 33 min Night 1 h 54 min	Dark 40 min Night 2 h 4 min
Seattle 48° N	Dark 31 min Night 1 h 44 min	Dark 41 min Night 3 h 9 min	Dark 31 min Night 1 h 44 min	Dark 36 min Night 1 h 53 min
New York 41° N	Dark 27 min Night 1 h 32 min	Dark 34 min Night 2 h 7 min	Dark 27 min Night 1 h 31 min	Dark 31 min Night 1 h 39 min
Los Angeles 34° N	Dark 25 min Night 1 h 24 min	Dark 29 min Night 1 h 45 min	Dark 25 min Night 1 h 23 min	Dark 28 min Night 1 h 30 min
Miami 26° N	Dark 23 min Night 1 h 16 min	Dark 26 min Night 1 h 30 min	Dark 23 min Night 1 h 16 min	Dark 26 min Night 1 h 23 min
Mumbai 19° N	Dark 22 min Night 1 h 13 min	Dark 25 min Night 1 h 23 min	Dark 21 min Night 1 h 12 min	Dark 24 min Night 1 h 18 min
Singapore 1° N	Dark 21 min Night 1 h 9 min	Dark 22 min Night 1 h 15 min	Dark 20 min Night 1 h 8 min	Dark 23 min Night 1 h 15 min
Sydney 34° S	Dark 25 min Night 1 h 23 min	Dark 28 min Night 1 h 30 min	Dark 25 min Night 1 h 24 min	Dark 30 min Night 1 h 45 min

A few things stand out:

• The equator is the fastest. In Singapore it gets dark about 20 minutes after sunset all year round, and night comes a little over an hour after sunset.
• The farther from the equator, the longer it takes. In New York it gets dark about half an hour after sunset, in London between about 30 and 50 minutes, and in Reykjavík it can take well over an hour.
• Summer has the longest evenings. Around the June solstice London never gets a completely dark night, and Reykjavík and Anchorage stay light all night.
• The shortest twilights come around the equinoxes, not in winter. In the Northern Hemisphere the shortest fall a little before the March equinox and a little after the September one; in the Southern Hemisphere it is the other way round. Winter evenings are a little longer than spring and autumn ones.

Minutes from sunset until dark, 2026

SingaporeLos AngelesLondonReykjavík

Why It Takes Longer Far From the Equator

The sky turns 15° an hour, so the Sun always moves along its path at the same rate. What changes from place to place is the angle at which that path meets the horizon.

Near the equator the Sun goes down almost straight, so it reaches 6° below the horizon in about 20 minutes and 18° in a little over an hour. Farther north or south its path is slanted: the Sun slides sideways along the horizon as it sinks, and it needs more time to get just as deep. We explain this angle with drawings in Sunrise and Sunset at the Equator.

In summer the path is at its most slanted, and at night the Sun does not go very deep below the horizon, so evenings stretch out. In winter it is slanted again, which is why winter twilights are a little longer than those of spring and autumn.

Summer Nights That Never Get Completely Dark

Far enough from the equator, summer nights never reach full darkness. In London in late June the Sun only gets about 15° below the horizon at its lowest, around 1 am. It never reaches the 18° that astronomers need for night, so astronomical twilight lasts until dawn. To the eye it still looks like night in the city, with stars out, but away from the lights you can see a pale glow low in the north.

The farther north, the longer this season lasts. Around the June solstice Reykjavík and Anchorage do not even reach the end of civil twilight: you could read outside at midnight. The Southern Hemisphere gets the same in December: in the far south of Chile and Argentina, the nights around Christmas never get completely dark.

Summer nights that never get completely dark, 2026

City	No full night	Light all night
Seattle 48° N	–none	–none
Paris 49° N	June 12 – June 29	–none
London 52° N	May 22 – July 20	–none
Amsterdam 52° N	May 18 – July 24	–none
Berlin 53° N	May 17 – July 25	–none
Dublin 53° N	May 14 – July 28	–none
Edinburgh 56° N	May 4 – August 7	–none
Oslo 60° N	April 21 – August 20	–none
Anchorage 61° N	April 17 – August 23	June 7 – July 3
Reykjavík 64° N	April 9 – September 1	May 19 – July 23

Check another place

Why It Can Look Dark Sooner or Later Than the Clock Says

The times on this page come from the position of the Sun alone. They assume a clear sky and a flat horizon, like the open sea, so they are the same for anyone standing in the same spot. What your eyes see on a given evening also depends on the weather, the land around you and how much light there is nearby. These are the things that make the biggest difference:

• Clouds. They block the light that is left, so on an overcast evening it looks dark sooner. Over a city they can work the other way after dark: low clouds reflect the street lights and the night looks brighter.
• Mountains, hills or tall buildings. To the west, they hide the Sun before the official sunset, so the evening starts earlier. The sky above still gets dark at about the same time, though: the hills move your sunset, not your nightfall.
• The Moon. A full Moon lights up the sky so much that the night never looks completely dark, even after night begins.
• Snow. It reflects what light there is, so a snowy evening stays brighter for longer.
• City lights. They brighten the sky, so in a city it never looks pitch dark, even after astronomical twilight ends. To see a truly dark sky you need to get away from the lights.

So take Dark and Night as a guide rather than a stopwatch. On a clear evening in open country they come close to what you see. Under thick clouds, in a valley or in the middle of a city, give yourself some margin: if you are out walking, running or cycling, plan to be home, or to have a light with you, by the time shown as Dark.

Find Tonight’s Times for Your City

Every place page shows today’s and tomorrow’s First light, Dark and Night, with the same definitions as this article, and our sunrise and sunset calendar can show first and last light for every day of any month. We explain how we calculate all these times in our methodology. Type your city to find yours:

Frequently Asked Questions

What is 30 minutes after sunset called?

In everyday words it is dusk. Strictly speaking, astronomers call the end of civil twilight, when the Sun is 6° below the horizon, civil dusk. In most mid-latitude cities that moment comes about half an hour after sunset.

Why do some rules say “30 minutes after sunset”?

Because in much of the United States civil twilight lasts about half an hour, a fixed 30 minutes is an easy rule of thumb. The FAA uses exactly that for drones: its rules define civil twilight as the 30 minutes after official sunset (Alaska follows the Air Almanac instead), and a drone flying then must show anti-collision lights. Similar half-hour rules appear in some state laws, so check the rules where you are. Keep in mind that the real twilight can be shorter or longer than 30 minutes: see the table above.

Is it the same in the morning?

Yes, in reverse. The sky starts to brighten when the Sun is 18° below the horizon, and there is enough light to be outside without a lamp from the moment it reaches 6° below, roughly as long before sunrise as dark comes after sunset. Our place pages show that moment as First light.

Does daylight saving time change how long it takes to get dark?

No. Daylight saving time moves the clock, not the Sun. Sunset and dark both come an hour later on the clock, but the time between them stays the same.