Sunrise today: what time the sun comes up
Today’s sunrise and first light for your location. First light, the start of civil twilight, comes about 25 to 35 minutes before the sun itself at mid-latitudes, and it is already bright enough to walk outside without a torch.
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First light, sunrise and golden hour
First light (civil dawn) is when the sun is 6° below the horizon; the sky brightens and the morning blue hour begins. Sunrise is when the upper edge of the sun appears over a flat horizon. The morning golden hour then lasts until the sun is 6° up.
Earliest and latest sunrise in eight cities
| City | Earliest sunrise | Latest sunrise |
|---|---|---|
| New York | 5:25 AM Jun 15 | 7:26 AM Oct 31 |
| Los Angeles | 5:42 AM Jun 13 | 7:14 AM Mar 8 |
| Chicago | 5:16 AM Jun 15 | 7:22 AM Oct 31 |
| Seattle | 5:12 AM Jun 16 | 7:58 AM Jan 1 |
| Miami | 6:30 AM Jun 9 | 7:38 AM Mar 8 |
| London | 4:43 AM Jun 17 | 8:07 AM Dec 31 |
| Sydney | 5:31 AM Oct 3 | 7:10 AM Apr 4 |
| Tokyo | 4:26 AM Jun 14 | 6:52 AM Jan 7 |
Why the darkest mornings come after the shortest day
Away from the equator, the latest winter sunrise comes a couple of weeks after the solstice; in New York it is January 4, at 7:21 AM. Solar noon drifts later through late December and early January, so sunrise keeps getting later even after the days have started getting longer. Daylight saving time adds its own jolts: in New York the latest sunrise on the clock is actually October 31 (7:26 AM), the last morning before clocks go back, and when clocks go forward in March sunrise jumps an hour later overnight.
Watching the sunrise
Find a clear view to the east, and remember the sun does not rise due east except near the equinoxes. At 40° north it comes up about 30° north of east in late June and about 30° south of east in late December. Arrive at first light: the colour in the sky is often best in the twenty minutes before the sun appears.