Sunrise & sunset times in Harare
Sunrise in Harare today is at 05:37 and sunset is at 17:53, giving 12h 16m of daylight (times for Friday, 2 October 2026, in Harare's local time zone). Evening golden hour runs 17:24 to 17:53. The moon is a waning gibbous at 67% illumination.
Live sunrise, sunset, solar noon, day length, golden hour, blue hour and moon times for Harare, Zimbabwe. Pick any date to see the light for that day in local time.
On the 2026 June solstice the sun rises at 06:25 and sets at 17:29 in Harare (11h 4m of daylight). On the December solstice it rises at 05:17 and sets at 18:29 (13h 12m).
| Event | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length |
|---|---|---|---|
| March equinox | 05:59 | 18:06 | 12h 7m |
| June solstice | 06:25 | 17:29 | 11h 4m |
| September equinox | 05:45 | 17:51 | 12h 6m |
| December solstice | 05:17 | 18:29 | 13h 12m |
Full sun timeline for Harare
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 Harare
The best windows for warm and cool natural light on this date.
| Month | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 05:32 | 18:37 | 13h 5m |
| February | 05:49 | 18:30 | 12h 40m |
| March | 05:58 | 18:10 | 12h 12m |
| April | 06:05 | 17:46 | 11h 42m |
| May | 06:13 | 17:30 | 11h 17m |
| June | 06:24 | 17:28 | 11h 4m |
| July | 06:27 | 17:36 | 11h 9m |
| August | 06:15 | 17:45 | 11h 30m |
| September | 05:51 | 17:50 | 11h 59m |
| October | 05:27 | 17:56 | 12h 29m |
| November | 05:12 | 18:09 | 12h 57m |
| December | 05:15 | 18:26 | 13h 12m |
Sun and moon in Harare
For photographers, gardeners, runners and anyone chasing good light, the daily sun and moon schedule for Harare 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 Harare. Every value is calculated in the browser for the date you pick and shown in the local time of Harare, Zimbabwe. Harare sits at roughly 17.83 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 Harare 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 Harare. 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 Harare, Zimbabwe for any day of the year.
What time is sunset in Harare today?
The sun sets in Harare at 17:53 today, Friday, 2 October 2026, in Harare's own local time. The warm light starts well before that: evening golden hour opens at 17:24, giving 29 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 22 minutes later at 18:15, and the sky is properly dark at 19:06, 1h 13m after sunset.
Tomorrow the sun sets at 17:53 in Harare. To the minute, that is the same time as today. Over the coming week sunset moves 1 minute 26 seconds later.
Planning around the light? See golden hour in Harare.
Is the day getting longer or shorter in Harare right now?
Harare gets 12h 16m of daylight today, from sunrise to sunset. Tomorrow will be 1 minute longer. Over the next seven days Harare gains 7 minutes 1 second of daylight.
That pace is not constant. In Harare the day length changes fastest around March, near the equinox, when it moves by about 1 minute 1 second 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 Harare?
The earliest sunset of 2026 in Harare falls on 3 June at 17:27, 18 days before the June solstice, and the latest on 18 January at 18:37.
Sunrise runs on its own schedule: earliest on 25 November at 05:11, latest on 7 July at 06:27, 16 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 | 25 Nov 2026 | 05:11 | 26 days before the December solstice |
| Latest sunrise | 7 Jul 2026 | 06:27 | 16 days after the June solstice |
| Earliest sunset | 3 Jun 2026 | 17:27 | 18 days before the June solstice |
| Latest sunset | 18 Jan 2026 | 18:37 | 28 days after the December solstice |
For the longest and shortest day themselves, see day length in Harare.
How long does twilight last in Harare?
First light in Harare arrives 22 minutes before sunrise today, at 05:15. After sunset the light hangs on for another 22 minutes, until 18:15. That evening stretch is not the same all year in Harare: it runs from 22 minutes at its shortest, in March, to 24 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 Harare and dusk in Harare.
How high does the sun get in Harare?
At midday on the December solstice the sun stands 84.4 degrees above the horizon in Harare. On the June solstice it climbs only 48.8 degrees. The midday sun stays high enough all year that noon shadows in Harare are always shorter than the object casting them, about 0.88 times their height at the lowest point of the year.
Twice a year, on 29 January and 12 November, the midday sun over Harare comes within half a degree of straight overhead, reaching 89.95 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 Harare
What time is sunrise in Harare today?
The sun rises in Harare, Zimbabwe at 05:37 on Friday, 2 October 2026, and sets at 17:53. Use the date picker above to check sunrise for any other day. All times are given in the local time zone of Harare.
When is golden hour in Harare?
Harare has two golden hours each day. On Friday, 2 October 2026 the morning window runs from 05:37 to 06:05, and the evening window from 17:24 to 17:53, 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 Harare?
Because Harare lies in the southern hemisphere, its days are longest around December and shortest around June. In Harare the longer solstice day runs about 13h 12m and the shorter one about 11h 4m, 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 Harare accurate?
Yes. Times are computed with the well established SunCalc astronomy library using the coordinates of Harare 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 Harare?
Yes. The current moon phase, the percentage of the Moon that is lit, and the moonrise and moonset times for Harare 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 Harare gain or lose each day?
Harare has 12h 16m of daylight on Friday, 2 October 2026 and is gaining daylight: 7 minutes 1 second over the following seven days, with tomorrow 1 minute 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 Harare?
The earliest sunset of 2026 in Harare is on 3 June at 17:27, 18 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 Harare?
About 22 minutes on Friday, 2 October 2026. The sun sets at 17:53 and usable daylight ends at civil dusk, 18:15, with full astronomical darkness at 19:06. The higher the latitude, the longer that fade takes.
Data and methodology: every time on this page is computed from Harare's coordinates with SunCalc, an open source astronomy library, not estimated or looked up from a table. Coordinates -17.83, 31.03, time zone Africa/Harare. 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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