<p><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunshine_duration">Wikipedia</a> strikes again:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>The naive expectation is that, for every place on Earth, the Sun will
  appear to be above the horizon for exactly half the time. Thus, for a
  standard year consisting of 8760 hours, apparent maximal daytime
  duration would be 4380 hours. However, there are physical and
  astronomical effects which change that picture. Namely, atmospheric
  refraction allows the Sun to be still visible even when it physically
  sets below the horizon line. For that reason, average daytime
  (disregarding cloud effects) is longest in polar areas, where the
  apparent Sun spends the most time around the horizon. Places on the
  Arctic Circle have the longest total annual daytime of 4647 hours,
  while the North Pole receives 4575. Because of elliptic nature of the
  Earth's orbit, the Southern Hemisphere is not symmetrical: Antarctic
  Circle at 4530 hours receives 5 days less of sunshine than its
  antipodes. The Equator has the total daytime of 4422 hours per
  year.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Further details <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daytime_%28astronomy%29">here</a> on astronomical causes of average daytime variation, and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insolation">here</a> on Insolation, the solar radiation received at the top of the atmosphere and its effects on the energy received at ground level.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-06-09T09:16:16.603Z
Thanks for the above - a supplementary. Presumably the number of daylight hours on other places on the globe - London for example - will somewhere between the polar and equitorial amounts?
Peter Smith
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-06-09T13:10:48.630Z
@peter Smith yes. As it says in the answer the exact relationship of daylight hours with latitude depends on many astronomical and physical effects, such as the atmospheric composition to allow refraction. However the number of hours in both hemispheres will at least be between their respective poles and the equator.
christopherlovell
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-06-07T14:53:47.317Z
2014-06-07T14:53:47.317Z
christopherlovell
<p>If this is the wrong group please direct me to the correct one.</p>

<p>It seems intuitively obvious that the amount of daylight per annum should be the same for any latitude on earth. For example, 12 hours per day at the equator. The poles have daylight for half the year and darkness for the other half (crudely).</p>

<p>Is there any way to get an answer to this apparently simple question - is the annual amount of daylight the same at any point on earth?</p>

<orbit><earth>
Average amount of annual daylight at any place on earth
Peter Smith
# Average amount of annual daylight at any place on earth

(Asked by: username_0 on 2014-06-06)

If this is the wrong group please direct me to the correct one.

It seems intuitively obvious that the amount of daylight per annum should be the same for any latitude on earth. For example, 12 hours per day at the equator. The poles have daylight for half the year and darkness for the other half (crudely).

Is there any way to get an answer to this apparently simple question - is the annual amount of daylight the same at any point on earth?

**Tags:** orbit, earth


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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2014-06-07. Score: 13 | Accepted answer

[Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunshine_duration) strikes again:

> The naive expectation is that, for every place on Earth, the Sun will
> appear to be above the horizon for exactly half the time. Thus, for a
> standard year consisting of 8760 hours, apparent maximal daytime
> duration would be 4380 hours. However, there are physical and
> astronomical effects which change that picture. Namely, atmospheric
> refraction allows the Sun to be still visible even when it physically
> sets below the horizon line. For that reason, average daytime
> (disregarding cloud effects) is longest in polar areas, where the
> apparent Sun spends the most time around the horizon. Places on the
> Arctic Circle have the longest total annual daytime of 4647 hours,
> while the North Pole receives 4575. Because of elliptic nature of the
> Earth's orbit, the Southern Hemisphere is not symmetrical: Antarctic
> Circle at 4530 hours receives 5 days less of sunshine than its
> antipodes. The Equator has the total daytime of 4422 hours per
> year.

Further details [here](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daytime_%28astronomy%29) on astronomical causes of average daytime variation, and [here](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insolation) on Insolation, the solar radiation received at the top of the atmosphere and its effects on the energy received at ground level.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Thanks for the above - a supplementary. Presumably the number of daylight hours on other places on the globe - London for example - will somewhere between the polar and equitorial amounts?  
> **username_1**: @username_0 username_0 yes. As it says in the answer the exact relationship of daylight hours with latitude depends on many astronomical and physical effects, such as the atmospheric composition to allow refraction. However the number of hours in both hemispheres will at least be between their respective poles and the equator.  

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