Sunrise & sunset times in Fortaleza
Sunrise in Fortaleza today is at 05:19 and sunset is at 17:27, giving 12h 8m of daylight (times for Thursday, 1 October 2026, in Fortaleza's local time zone). Evening golden hour runs 17:00 to 17:27. The moon is a waning gibbous at 67% illumination.
Live sunrise, sunset, solar noon, day length, golden hour, blue hour and moon times for Fortaleza, Brazil. Pick any date to see the light for that day in local time.
On the 2026 June solstice the sun rises at 05:38 and sets at 17:33 in Fortaleza (11h 54m of daylight). On the December solstice it rises at 05:21 and sets at 17:42 (12h 21m).
| Event | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length |
|---|---|---|---|
| March equinox | 05:38 | 17:44 | 12h 7m |
| June solstice | 05:38 | 17:33 | 11h 54m |
| September equinox | 05:23 | 17:30 | 12h 6m |
| December solstice | 05:21 | 17:42 | 12h 21m |
Full sun timeline for Fortaleza
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 Fortaleza
The best windows for warm and cool natural light on this date.
| Month | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 05:34 | 17:52 | 12h 19m |
| February | 05:41 | 17:54 | 12h 14m |
| March | 05:39 | 17:46 | 12h 8m |
| April | 05:33 | 17:34 | 12h 1m |
| May | 05:32 | 17:28 | 11h 57m |
| June | 05:37 | 17:31 | 11h 54m |
| July | 05:42 | 17:37 | 11h 55m |
| August | 05:39 | 17:38 | 11h 59m |
| September | 05:26 | 17:31 | 12h 5m |
| October | 05:14 | 17:25 | 12h 11m |
| November | 05:10 | 17:27 | 12h 17m |
| December | 05:19 | 17:39 | 12h 20m |
Sun and moon in Fortaleza
If you are scheduling a rooftop dinner or an early hike, the daily sun and moon schedule for Fortaleza 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 Fortaleza. Every value is calculated in the browser for the date you pick and shown in the local time of Fortaleza, Brazil. Fortaleza sits at roughly 3.73 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 Fortaleza 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 Fortaleza. 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 Fortaleza, Brazil for any day of the year.
What time is sunset in Fortaleza today?
The sun sets in Fortaleza at 17:27 (just after midnight) today, Thursday, 1 October 2026, in Fortaleza's own local time. The warm light starts well before that: evening golden hour opens at 17:00, giving 27 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 17:48, and the sky is properly dark at 18:36, 1h 9m after sunset.
Tomorrow the sun sets at 17:27 in Fortaleza. To the minute, that is the same time as today. Over the coming week sunset moves 1 minute 23 seconds earlier.
Planning around the light? See golden hour in Fortaleza.
Is the day getting longer or shorter in Fortaleza right now?
Fortaleza gets 12h 8m of daylight today, from sunrise to sunset. Tomorrow will be 12 seconds longer. Over the next seven days Fortaleza gains 1 minute 28 seconds of daylight.
When are the earliest and latest sunrise and sunset in Fortaleza?
The earliest sunset of 2026 in Fortaleza falls on 26 October at 17:24, 56 days before the December solstice, and the latest on 3 February at 17:55.
Sunrise runs on its own schedule: earliest on 9 November at 05:09, latest on 19 July at 05:42, 28 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 | 9 Nov 2026 | 05:09 | 42 days before the December solstice |
| Latest sunrise | 19 Jul 2026 | 05:42 | 28 days after the June solstice |
| Earliest sunset | 26 Oct 2026 | 17:24 | 56 days before the December solstice |
| Latest sunset | 3 Feb 2026 | 17:55 | 44 days after the December solstice |
For the longest and shortest day themselves, see day length in Fortaleza.
How long does twilight last in Fortaleza?
First light in Fortaleza arrives 21 minutes before sunrise today, at 04:58. After sunset the light hangs on for another 21 minutes, until 17:48. That evening stretch is not the same all year in Fortaleza: 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 Fortaleza and dusk in Fortaleza.
How high does the sun get in Fortaleza?
At midday on the December solstice the sun stands 70.3 degrees above the horizon in Fortaleza. On the June solstice it climbs only 62.8 degrees. The midday sun stays high enough all year that noon shadows in Fortaleza are always shorter than the object casting them, about 0.51 times their height at the lowest point of the year.
Twice a year, on 11 March and 2 October, the midday sun over Fortaleza comes within half a degree of straight overhead, reaching 90.00 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 Fortaleza
What time is sunrise in Fortaleza today?
The sun rises in Fortaleza, Brazil at 05:19 on Thursday, 1 October 2026, and sets at 17:27. Use the date picker above to check sunrise for any other day. All times are given in the local time zone of Fortaleza.
When is golden hour in Fortaleza?
Fortaleza has two golden hours each day. On Thursday, 1 October 2026 the morning window runs from 05:19 to 05:46, and the evening window from 17:00 to 17:27, 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 Fortaleza?
Because Fortaleza lies in the southern hemisphere, its days are longest around December and shortest around June. In Fortaleza the longer solstice day runs about 12h 21m and the shorter one about 11h 54m, 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 Fortaleza accurate?
Yes. Times are computed with the well established SunCalc astronomy library using the coordinates of Fortaleza 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 Fortaleza?
Yes. The current moon phase, the percentage of the Moon that is lit, and the moonrise and moonset times for Fortaleza 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 Fortaleza gain or lose each day?
Fortaleza has 12h 8m of daylight on Thursday, 1 October 2026 and is gaining daylight: 1 minute 28 seconds over the following seven days, with tomorrow 12 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 Fortaleza?
The earliest sunset of 2026 in Fortaleza is on 26 October at 17:24, 56 days before the December 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 Fortaleza?
About 21 minutes on Thursday, 1 October 2026. The sun sets at 17:27 and usable daylight ends at civil dusk, 17:48, with full astronomical darkness at 18:36. The higher the latitude, the longer that fade takes.
Data and methodology: every time on this page is computed from Fortaleza's coordinates with SunCalc, an open source astronomy library, not estimated or looked up from a table. Coordinates -3.73, -38.53, time zone America/Fortaleza. 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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