Zambia · Africa

Sunrise & sunset times in Kitwe

Sunrise in Kitwe today is at 05:49 and sunset is at 18:03, giving 12h 13m of daylight (times for Friday, 2 October 2026, in Kitwe's local time zone). Evening golden hour runs 17:35 to 18:03. The moon is a waning gibbous at 67% illumination.

Live sunrise, sunset, solar noon, day length, golden hour, blue hour and moon times for Kitwe, Zambia. Pick any date to see the light for that day in local time.

On the 2026 June solstice the sun rises at 06:27 and sets at 17:50 in Kitwe (11h 22m of daylight). On the December solstice it rises at 05:38 and sets at 18:31 (12h 53m).

Kitwe today
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Kitwe sunrise, sunset and day length on the 2026 solstices and equinoxes
EventSunriseSunsetDay length
March equinox06:1118:1712h 7m
June solstice06:2717:5011h 22m
September equinox05:5618:0312h 6m
December solstice05:3818:3112h 53m
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Full sun timeline for Kitwe

Dawn (first light)--:--

Civil dawn, when the sky starts to brighten before sunrise.

Sunrise--:--

The moment the top edge of the sun appears on the horizon.

Morning golden hour ends--:--

End of the soft, warm morning light photographers love.

Solar noon--:--

The sun reaches its highest point in the sky for the day.

Evening golden hour starts--:--

Start of the warm, low evening light before sunset.

Sunset--:--

The moment the sun dips fully below the horizon.

Dusk (last light)--:--

Civil dusk, when the last usable daylight fades.

Golden hour and blue hour in Kitwe

The best windows for warm and cool natural light on this date.

Morning blue hourcool pre-dawn light
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Morning golden hourwarm light after sunrise
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Evening golden hourwarm light before sunset
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Evening blue hourcool light after sunset
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Moon over Kitwe

Moon phase
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Kitwesunrise, sunset and day length month by month (around the 15th). Open a month for every day's times.
MonthSunriseSunsetDay length
January05:5218:4012h 48m
February06:0518:3612h 30m
March06:1018:2112h 11m
April06:1218:0111h 49m
May06:1717:4911h 32m
June06:2617:4811h 23m
July06:3017:5611h 26m
August06:2118:0211h 41m
September06:0218:0312h 1m
October05:4118:0412h 23m
November05:3018:1212h 42m
December05:3518:2812h 53m

Sun and moon in Kitwe

Stargazers, dog walkers and commuters rely on the daily sun and moon schedule for Kitwe, Zambia. 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 Kitwe. Every value is calculated in the browser for the date you pick and shown in the local time of Kitwe, Zambia. Kitwe sits at roughly 12.80 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 Kitwe 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 Kitwe. 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 Kitwe, Zambia for any day of the year.

What time is sunset in Kitwe today?

The sun sets in Kitwe at 18:03 today, Friday, 2 October 2026, in Kitwe's own local time. The warm light starts well before that: evening golden hour opens at 17:35, 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 18:24, and the sky is properly dark at 19:14, 1h 11m after sunset.

Tomorrow the sun sets at 18:03 in Kitwe. 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.

Is the day getting longer or shorter in Kitwe right now?

Kitwe gets 12h 13m of daylight today, from sunrise to sunset. Tomorrow will be 43 seconds longer. Over the next seven days Kitwe gains 4 minutes 58 seconds of daylight.

That pace is not constant. In Kitwe the day length changes fastest around March, near the equinox, when it moves by about 43 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 Kitwe?

The earliest sunset of 2026 in Kitwe falls on 30 May at 17:47, 22 days before the June solstice, and the latest on 23 January at 18:40.

Sunrise runs on its own schedule: earliest on 20 November at 05:30, latest on 11 July at 06:30, 20 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.

The extremes of Kitwe's sun year in 2026, in local clock time
ExtremeDateLocal timeWhy then
Earliest sunrise20 Nov 202605:3031 days before the December solstice
Latest sunrise11 Jul 202606:3020 days after the June solstice
Earliest sunset30 May 202617:4722 days before the June solstice
Latest sunset23 Jan 202618:4033 days after the December solstice

How long does twilight last in Kitwe?

First light in Kitwe arrives 21 minutes before sunrise today, at 05:28. After sunset the light hangs on for another 21 minutes, until 18:24. That evening stretch is not the same all year in Kitwe: 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.

How high does the sun get in Kitwe?

At midday on the December solstice the sun stands 79.4 degrees above the horizon in Kitwe. On the June solstice it climbs only 53.8 degrees. The midday sun stays high enough all year that noon shadows in Kitwe are always shorter than the object casting them, about 0.73 times their height at the lowest point of the year.

Twice a year, on 14 February and 27 October, the midday sun over Kitwe 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 Kitwe

What time is sunrise in Kitwe today?

The sun rises in Kitwe, Zambia at 05:49 on Friday, 2 October 2026, and sets at 18:03. Use the date picker above to check sunrise for any other day. All times are given in the local time zone of Kitwe.

When is golden hour in Kitwe?

Kitwe has two golden hours each day. On Friday, 2 October 2026 the morning window runs from 05:49 to 06:17, and the evening window from 17:35 to 18:03, 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 Kitwe?

Because Kitwe lies in the southern hemisphere, its days are longest around December and shortest around June. In Kitwe the longer solstice day runs about 12h 53m and the shorter one about 11h 22m, 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 Kitwe accurate?

Yes. Times are computed with the well established SunCalc astronomy library using the coordinates of Kitwe 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 Kitwe?

Yes. The current moon phase, the percentage of the Moon that is lit, and the moonrise and moonset times for Kitwe 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 Kitwe gain or lose each day?

Kitwe has 12h 13m of daylight on Friday, 2 October 2026 and is gaining daylight: 4 minutes 58 seconds over the following seven days, with tomorrow 43 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 Kitwe?

The earliest sunset of 2026 in Kitwe is on 30 May at 17:47, 22 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 Kitwe?

About 21 minutes on Friday, 2 October 2026. The sun sets at 18:03 and usable daylight ends at civil dusk, 18:24, with full astronomical darkness at 19:14. The higher the latitude, the longer that fade takes.

Data and methodology: every time on this page is computed from Kitwe's coordinates with SunCalc, an open source astronomy library, not estimated or looked up from a table. Coordinates -12.80, 28.21, time zone Africa/Lusaka. 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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