Sunrise & sunset times in Dar es Salaam
Sunrise in Dar es Salaam today is at 06:07 and sunset is at 18:17, giving 12h 10m of daylight (times for Friday, 2 October 2026, in Dar es Salaam's local time zone). Evening golden hour runs 17:50 to 18:17. The moon is a waning gibbous at 66% illumination.
Live sunrise, sunset, solar noon, day length, golden hour, blue hour and moon times for Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Pick any date to see the light for that day in local time.
On the 2026 June solstice the sun rises at 06:33 and sets at 18:16 in Dar es Salaam (11h 44m of daylight). On the December solstice it rises at 06:05 and sets at 18:36 (12h 31m).
| Event | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length |
|---|---|---|---|
| March equinox | 06:27 | 18:33 | 12h 7m |
| June solstice | 06:33 | 18:16 | 11h 44m |
| September equinox | 06:12 | 18:19 | 12h 6m |
| December solstice | 06:05 | 18:36 | 12h 31m |
Full sun timeline for Dar es Salaam
Civil dawn, when the sky starts to brighten before sunrise.
The moment the top edge of the sun appears on the horizon.
End of the soft, warm morning light photographers love.
The sun reaches its highest point in the sky for the day.
Start of the warm, low evening light before sunset.
The moment the sun dips fully below the horizon.
Civil dusk, when the last usable daylight fades.
Golden hour and blue hour in Dar es Salaam
The best windows for warm and cool natural light on this date.
| Month | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 06:18 | 18:46 | 12h 28m |
| February | 06:27 | 18:46 | 12h 19m |
| March | 06:27 | 18:36 | 12h 9m |
| April | 06:24 | 18:21 | 11h 57m |
| May | 06:25 | 18:13 | 11h 48m |
| June | 06:31 | 18:15 | 11h 44m |
| July | 06:36 | 18:22 | 11h 46m |
| August | 06:31 | 18:24 | 11h 53m |
| September | 06:16 | 18:20 | 12h 4m |
| October | 06:01 | 18:16 | 12h 15m |
| November | 05:55 | 18:20 | 12h 25m |
| December | 06:02 | 18:33 | 12h 31m |
Sun and moon in Dar es Salaam
If you are scheduling a rooftop dinner or an early hike, the daily sun and moon schedule for Dar es Salaam is easy to check here. This page shows live sunrise, sunset, solar noon, day length, morning and evening golden hour, blue hour, dawn and dusk, plus the current moon phase and the moonrise and moonset times for Dar es Salaam. Every value is calculated in the browser for the date you pick and shown in the local time of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Dar es Salaam sits at roughly 6.79 degrees south, in the southern hemisphere, so it sees very little seasonal change, with day length staying close to twelve hours all year and a short, fast twilight after sunset. Because the length of the day changes with the seasons, the exact sunrise and sunset in Dar es Salaam shift from week to week. Pick any date with the date picker to see how the light will fall on a specific day, which is handy for planning a shoot, an event, a wedding, a flight or simply the best moment to catch the last warm light of the evening. Golden hour, that soft warm window near sunrise and sunset, is the favourite of photographers in Dar es Salaam. Blue hour, the cooler stretch just before sunrise and just after sunset, is ideal for cityscapes and long exposures. Combined with the moon phase and moon times, this gives you a complete picture of natural light over Dar es Salaam, Tanzania for any day of the year.
What time is sunset in Dar es Salaam today?
The sun sets in Dar es Salaam at 18:17 today, Friday, 2 October 2026, in Dar es Salaam's own local time. The warm light starts well before that: evening golden hour opens at 17:50, giving 28 minutes of low golden light before the sun reaches the horizon. Sunset is not the end of the light either. Last light, the moment usable daylight ends at civil dusk, follows 21 minutes later at 18:38, and the sky is properly dark at 19:27, 1h 9m after sunset.
Tomorrow the sun sets at 18:17 in Dar es Salaam. To the minute, that is the same time as today. Over the coming week sunset barely moves at all, by under a minute in total.
Planning around the light? See golden hour in Dar es Salaam.
Is the day getting longer or shorter in Dar es Salaam right now?
Dar es Salaam gets 12h 10m of daylight today, from sunrise to sunset. Tomorrow will be 23 seconds longer. Over the next seven days Dar es Salaam gains 2 minutes 38 seconds of daylight.
That pace is not constant. In Dar es Salaam the day length changes fastest around March, near the equinox, when it moves by about 23 seconds per day, and it slows almost to a stop at the solstices in June and December. The word solstice means exactly that: the sun standing still.
When are the earliest and latest sunrise and sunset in Dar es Salaam?
The earliest sunset of 2026 in Dar es Salaam falls on 23 May at 18:13, 29 days before the June solstice, and the latest on 30 January at 18:48.
Sunrise runs on its own schedule: earliest on 13 November at 05:55, latest on 16 July at 06:36, 25 days after the June solstice. The four dates in the table below do not line up with the solstices, and they are not supposed to. Earth's orbit is slightly elliptical and its axis is tilted, so the sun runs a few minutes fast or slow against clock time through the year. That offset, the equation of time, is what pushes the earliest sunset ahead of the shortest day and the latest sunrise behind it.
| Extreme | Date | Local time | Why then |
|---|---|---|---|
| Earliest sunrise | 13 Nov 2026 | 05:55 | 38 days before the December solstice |
| Latest sunrise | 16 Jul 2026 | 06:36 | 25 days after the June solstice |
| Earliest sunset | 23 May 2026 | 18:13 | 29 days before the June solstice |
| Latest sunset | 30 Jan 2026 | 18:48 | 40 days after the December solstice |
For the longest and shortest day themselves, see day length in Dar es Salaam.
How long does twilight last in Dar es Salaam?
First light in Dar es Salaam arrives 21 minutes before sunrise today, at 05:46. After sunset the light hangs on for another 21 minutes, until 18:38. That evening stretch is not the same all year in Dar es Salaam: it runs from 21 minutes at its shortest, in March, to 23 minutes at its longest, in December. The lower the angle at which the sun crosses the horizon, the longer twilight lasts, which is why dusk is a slow affair at high latitudes and abrupt near the equator.
Full three-band twilight tables: dawn in Dar es Salaam and dusk in Dar es Salaam.
How high does the sun get in Dar es Salaam?
At midday on the December solstice the sun stands 73.4 degrees above the horizon in Dar es Salaam. On the June solstice it climbs only 59.8 degrees. The midday sun stays high enough all year that noon shadows in Dar es Salaam are always shorter than the object casting them, about 0.58 times their height at the lowest point of the year.
Twice a year, on 3 March and 10 October, the midday sun over Dar es Salaam comes within half a degree of straight overhead, reaching 89.96 degrees at its highest. On those days an upright post casts almost no shadow at solar noon, which is why they are sometimes called zero shadow days. It can only happen between the tropics, where the sun passes directly over a place at all.
Frequently asked questions about Dar es Salaam
What time is sunrise in Dar es Salaam today?
The sun rises in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania at 06:07 on Friday, 2 October 2026, and sets at 18:17. Use the date picker above to check sunrise for any other day. All times are given in the local time zone of Dar es Salaam.
When is golden hour in Dar es Salaam?
Dar es Salaam has two golden hours each day. On Friday, 2 October 2026 the morning window runs from 06:07 to 06:35, and the evening window from 17:50 to 18:17, all in local time. Pick another date above to plan a shoot down to the minute.
Why do sunrise and sunset change through the year in Dar es Salaam?
Because Dar es Salaam lies in the southern hemisphere, its days are longest around December and shortest around June. In Dar es Salaam the longer solstice day runs about 12h 31m and the shorter one about 11h 44m, as shown in the table above. As Earth orbits the Sun, the point on the horizon where the Sun rises and sets moves, which lengthens or shortens the day and shifts sunrise and sunset times.
Are the times for Dar es Salaam accurate?
Yes. Times are computed with the well established SunCalc astronomy library using the coordinates of Dar es Salaam and shown in its local time zone. They are accurate to about a minute for a clear, flat horizon. Hills, tall buildings and atmospheric conditions can shift the moment you actually see the Sun by a few minutes.
Does this page show the moon phase for Dar es Salaam?
Yes. The current moon phase, the percentage of the Moon that is lit, and the moonrise and moonset times for Dar es Salaam are all shown for the selected date, so you can plan around a full moon or a dark new moon sky.
How much daylight does Dar es Salaam gain or lose each day?
Dar es Salaam has 12h 10m of daylight on Friday, 2 October 2026 and is gaining daylight: 2 minutes 38 seconds over the following seven days, with tomorrow 23 seconds longer than today. The daily change is at its largest near the March and September equinoxes and almost stops at the June and December solstices.
When is the earliest sunset in Dar es Salaam?
The earliest sunset of 2026 in Dar es Salaam is on 23 May at 18:13, 29 days before the June solstice. The earliest sunset and the shortest day are not the same date, because the sun runs a few minutes fast or slow against clock time through the year, an effect called the equation of time.
How long does it stay light after sunset in Dar es Salaam?
About 21 minutes on Friday, 2 October 2026. The sun sets at 18:17 and usable daylight ends at civil dusk, 18:38, with full astronomical darkness at 19:27. The higher the latitude, the longer that fade takes.
Data and methodology: every time on this page is computed from Dar es Salaam's coordinates with SunCalc, an open source astronomy library, not estimated or looked up from a table. Coordinates -6.79, 39.21, time zone Africa/Dar_es_Salaam. Accurate to about a minute for a flat, unobstructed horizon; terrain, tall buildings and atmospheric conditions can shift the moment the sun is actually visible by a few minutes. Full method on methodology.
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