Sunrise & sunset times in Freetown
Sunrise in Freetown today is at 06:41 and sunset is at 18:43, giving 12h 2m of daylight (times for Friday, 2 October 2026, in Freetown's local time zone). Evening golden hour runs 18:15 to 18:43. The moon is a waning gibbous at 67% illumination.
Live sunrise, sunset, solar noon, day length, golden hour, blue hour and moon times for Freetown, Sierra Leone. Pick any date to see the light for that day in local time.
On the 2026 June solstice the sun rises at 06:36 and sets at 19:13 in Freetown (12h 37m of daylight). On the December solstice it rises at 07:02 and sets at 18:40 (11h 38m).
| Event | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length |
|---|---|---|---|
| March equinox | 06:57 | 19:03 | 12h 7m |
| June solstice | 06:36 | 19:13 | 12h 37m |
| September equinox | 06:42 | 18:48 | 12h 7m |
| December solstice | 07:02 | 18:40 | 11h 38m |
Full sun timeline for Freetown
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 Freetown
The best windows for warm and cool natural light on this date.
Moon over Freetown
| Month | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 07:11 | 18:52 | 11h 41m |
| February | 07:11 | 19:02 | 11h 52m |
| March | 06:59 | 19:04 | 12h 4m |
| April | 06:43 | 19:02 | 12h 19m |
| May | 06:34 | 19:04 | 12h 31m |
| June | 06:34 | 19:11 | 12h 37m |
| July | 06:41 | 19:16 | 12h 34m |
| August | 06:45 | 19:09 | 12h 24m |
| September | 06:43 | 18:53 | 12h 10m |
| October | 06:40 | 18:36 | 11h 56m |
| November | 06:45 | 18:29 | 11h 44m |
| December | 06:59 | 18:37 | 11h 38m |
Sun and moon in Freetown
For photographers, gardeners, runners and anyone chasing good light, the daily sun and moon schedule for Freetown 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 Freetown. Every value is calculated in the browser for the date you pick and shown in the local time of Freetown, Sierra Leone. Freetown sits at roughly 8.49 degrees north, in the northern 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 Freetown 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 Freetown. 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 Freetown, Sierra Leone for any day of the year.
What time is sunset in Freetown today?
The sun sets in Freetown at 18:43 today, Friday, 2 October 2026, in Freetown's own local time. The warm light starts well before that: evening golden hour opens at 18:15, 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 19:04, and the sky is properly dark at 19:52, 1h 9m after sunset.
Tomorrow the sun sets at 18:42 in Freetown. That is 33 seconds earlier than today. Over the coming week sunset moves 3 minutes 40 seconds earlier.
Is the day getting longer or shorter in Freetown right now?
Freetown gets 12h 2m of daylight today, from sunrise to sunset. Tomorrow will be 27 seconds shorter. Over the next seven days Freetown loses 3 minutes 11 seconds of daylight.
That pace is not constant. In Freetown the day length changes fastest around March, near the equinox, when it moves by about 28 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 Freetown?
The earliest sunset of 2026 in Freetown falls on 14 November at 18:29, 37 days before the December solstice, and the latest on 13 July at 19:16.
Sunrise runs on its own schedule: earliest on 26 May at 06:33, latest on 28 January at 07:13, 38 days after the December 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 | 26 May 2026 | 06:33 | 26 days before the June solstice |
| Latest sunrise | 28 Jan 2026 | 07:13 | 38 days after the December solstice |
| Earliest sunset | 14 Nov 2026 | 18:29 | 37 days before the December solstice |
| Latest sunset | 13 Jul 2026 | 19:16 | 22 days after the June solstice |
How long does twilight last in Freetown?
First light in Freetown arrives 21 minutes before sunrise today, at 06:20. After sunset the light hangs on for another 21 minutes, until 19:04. That evening stretch is not the same all year in Freetown: it runs from 21 minutes at its shortest, in September, to 23 minutes at its longest, in June. 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.
How high does the sun get in Freetown?
At midday on the June solstice the sun stands 75.1 degrees above the horizon in Freetown. On the December solstice it climbs only 58.1 degrees. The midday sun stays high enough all year that noon shadows in Freetown are always shorter than the object casting them, about 0.62 times their height at the lowest point of the year.
Twice a year, on 11 April and 31 August, the midday sun over Freetown comes within half a degree of straight overhead, reaching 89.97 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 Freetown
What time is sunrise in Freetown today?
The sun rises in Freetown, Sierra Leone at 06:41 on Friday, 2 October 2026, and sets at 18:43. Use the date picker above to check sunrise for any other day. All times are given in the local time zone of Freetown.
When is golden hour in Freetown?
Freetown has two golden hours each day. On Friday, 2 October 2026 the morning window runs from 06:41 to 07:08, and the evening window from 18:15 to 18:43, 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 Freetown?
Because Freetown lies in the northern hemisphere, its days are longest around June and shortest around December. In Freetown the longer solstice day runs about 12h 37m and the shorter one about 11h 38m, 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 Freetown accurate?
Yes. Times are computed with the well established SunCalc astronomy library using the coordinates of Freetown 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 Freetown?
Yes. The current moon phase, the percentage of the Moon that is lit, and the moonrise and moonset times for Freetown 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 Freetown gain or lose each day?
Freetown has 12h 2m of daylight on Friday, 2 October 2026 and is losing daylight: 3 minutes 11 seconds over the following seven days, with tomorrow 27 seconds shorter 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 Freetown?
The earliest sunset of 2026 in Freetown is on 14 November at 18:29, 37 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 Freetown?
About 21 minutes on Friday, 2 October 2026. The sun sets at 18:43 and usable daylight ends at civil dusk, 19:04, with full astronomical darkness at 19:52. The higher the latitude, the longer that fade takes.
Data and methodology: every time on this page is computed from Freetown's coordinates with SunCalc, an open source astronomy library, not estimated or looked up from a table. Coordinates 8.49, -13.24, time zone Africa/Freetown. 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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