Martiee

Good day everyone!

We will be going to Europe in March 2008. As we are from South Africa we never experience the shorter days that occur in winter. I would like to enquire if anyone can tell me how many hours of daylight can we prepare ourselves for. We will be leaving sa on 29 Feb and Returning on 31 March.

The countries we are visiting are:
Switzerland, Italy, Austria, Germany, Denmark, England and Scotland.

Thank you

ira

Hi M,

Try http://tinyurl.com/p3t3a

PaulRabe

To get the sunrise and sunset times for any day of the year, for several cities around the world (and ANY city in the U.S.), and to get it with three different definitions of "rising" and "setting," go to

www.SunriseSunset.Com

You can print out a monthly sheet for your choice, and the site takes daylight savings time into account for all cities.

J62

This doesn't really require any website to calculate.

You are traveling on an around the spring equinox, which means ~12hrs daylight regardless of where you are in the world, from the north to the south and all points in between.

The shorter winter daylight hours are most noticeable around the winter solstice. (12/21)

janisj

I'm w/ J62 - I really didn't get your question since days are not short in March.

The shortest days are in Dec -- and the longest are in June. But in March (and Sept) it is really about 50/50 daylight and dark.

W9London

In London, it would get light around 6:30-7am and would get dark around 6-6:30pm. Note that Europe switches to summer time the last week of March.

Mischka

Hi Mart,
I have been over at that time of year before and I am pretty sure that the days are shorter than here in SA (unless it's my memory that is short)
It will be a whole lot colder too!!

I will also be over at that time.
It sounds like an interesting trip for you, do you care to share in more detail?

We have just come back from London, Switzerland and Germany, with day trips to Italy and France. It was great, I could go back tomorrow.

Enjoy the planning.

luv2cthings

< I have been over at that time of year before and I am pretty sure that the days are shorter than here in SA >

Per PaulRabe's suggested www.SunriseSunset.Com web site:

Using March 15th as midpoint of OP's trip:

Sunrise/sunset

Johannesburg 6:09 / 18:24
Copenhagen: 6:25 / 18:16

...it seems that J62 and janisj were pretty much correct in their observations.

Heimdall

Well, equinox <i>does</i> mean equal day and night, so J62 was correct. Sunrise and sunset times vary at each city according to its longitude within the zone. And of course SA will be experiencing the autumnal equinox in March.

Martiee

Thanx for everyones input. It may sound odd to you but we are used to having quite long days even in winter. I have spoken to people before telling me that it gets dark at 4pm in some countries and as well be driving we would need to consider that.

Mischka i will keep you updated.

elina

&gt;&gt;I have spoken to people before telling me that it gets dark at 4pm in some countries&lt;&lt;

Sure, in December. But you are going exactly at time of spring equinox (like it has been pointed out). The day/night will be exactly the same length you have at the same time in South Africa.

The year´s shortest day is 21st December, and two months around it (above the Arctic Circle) the sun doesn´t even rise above the horizon.

The year´s longest day is 21st June, and two months around it (above the Arctic Circle) the sun doesn´t go down at all. It is Midnight Sun.

And the end of September and end of March are the times when day/night are equally long all over the globe.

Makes me wonder what they teach in school.

travelgourmet

&quot;Makes me wonder what they teach in school.&quot;

Hopefully critical thinking, which is much more useful than rote memorization of the cycles of the sun.

And it doesn't matter when the sun is out in Denmark and the UK, it will be obscured by clouds anyway. While this is half joking, do bear in mind that the weather can be quite inhospitable that time of year in Scandinavia and Northern Europe, with enough rain, wind, and cold to make you want to head to Tahiti on the first flight. Pack a good, waterproof coat.

willit

South Africa is an interesting case, in that it is quite a wide country, but there is only one time zone and no daylight saving. The difference in surise/sunset and daylight hours between e.g Durban and Cape Town is quite marked.

My wife grew up in SA and was delighted with the long evenings in summer in Europe (and equally horrified with it getting dark &quot;in the middle of the afternoon&quot; in winter).

willit

South Africa is an interesting case, in that it is quite a wide country, but there is only one time zone and no daylight saving. The difference in surise/sunset and daylight hours between e.g Durban and Cape Town is quite marked.

My wife grew up in SA and was delighted with the long evenings in summer in Europe (and equally horrified with it getting dark &quot;in the middle of the afternoon&quot; in winter). For those not used to such things, the time changes can be confusing.

willit

Whoops, sorry - don't know what happened there with the duplicate posts.

janisj

Maritee: &quot;<i>It may sound odd to you but we are used to having quite long days even in winter. </i>&quot; Using Cape Town (I know other cities would be different) --

In June, sunrise is approx 0750 and sunset approx 1745 = 9 hrs 50-ish mins of daylight

In Dec, sunrise is approx 0530 and sunset approx 2000 = 14 hrs 30-ish mins of daylight

So even in South Africa there are significant differences between summer and winter daylight hours.