The changing daylight hours thread

[Summer8906]

14 hours ago, damianslaw said:

The cold front moved through fairly early and skies cleared through the afternoon. Admittedly further south you went the cloudier the afternoon was. Believe me the last 3 days though have been thoroughly miserable, coinciding with absolute peak mid winter blue period, onwards and upwards. If ever a Blue Monday it was 23 Jan this year, not 16 Jan which was very pleasant weatherwise overall.

For me Blue Monday was 19 Dec!

Strangely all four Mondays of January so far have been fairly decent here: Jan 2 and 9 being the only decent days of the first 12 days of the month.

[Summer8906]

11 hours ago, Sunny76 said:

I refuse to acknowledge the decline in daylight in July. Summer is still going strong until mid August for me, and then I notice the slow decline into autumn.

One thing of note in July is that most of the light loss is in the very early morning, pre-6am, so you don't really notice it. Even at the end of July sunset is close to 9pm.

(Curiously that is a mirror image of January in which most of the light gain is in the afternoon, with only a little in the morning).

About August 10 is when the nights seem to noticeably start drawing in. There then seems to be another "jolt" in the second half of Sep (probably no change in the rate, but the millstone of 7pm is passed) followed of course by the almightly seismic jolt on the last Sunday of Oct when sunset becomes really disproportionately early for the season, earlier than right now. (I've moaned about this a lot up thread, but one issue with late-Oct early-Nov is the very early solar noon, leading to lop-sided days in which it's broad daylight at 6.45am yet going dark by 5pm).

[Summer8906]

23 hours ago, al78 said:

I'm guessing the lag between the clock change and the winter solstice is because the weather is warmer and evening/outdoor activities are far more likely to be taking place in October compared to February hence the lighter evenings are more useful. I think it would be good if the clocks went forward at the beginning of March rather than the end as I would find the lighter evenings useful for pre-season preparation on the allotment.

Indeed, there is absolutely no good reason for keeping GMT going until the end of March.

Even with BST at the start of March, sunrise would be before 8am.

[Summer8906]

15 hours ago, cheeky_monkey said:

it will be Mid April until i see much of any light on my morning walks

They must be very early walks!

Sunrise reaches 7am here just after mid-Feb, I think, and remains before 7am after that, even with the clock change.

Edmonton looks like it's on a slightly "later" timezone than the UK, but not drastically so: current sunrise 0828, perhaps half an hour later than here.

Edited January 26, 2023 by Summer8906

[Maz]

12 hours ago, *Stormforce~beka* said:

Interesting! I don't usually feel better until March.

Neither do I really, I'm just trying some positive thinking!!

[kold weather]

13 hours ago, Earthshine said:

Almost through what is IMO the worst month of the year for SAD sufferers.  Next month we will soon see the first 10 hour day(light) of the year and the sun climbing ever higher in the sky.  The steeper incident angle of sunlight becoming more noticeable as things just look brighter and more alive.

Yes indeed, I always find Jan so much harder than Nov/Dec because by that time Xmas is done, and you've had several months if darker days.

It has been helped this winter by two very sunny periods which have helped break up what was a pretty sustained duller period.

Evenings are well on their way now, even on cloudy days there is still some light by 5, that would not have been the case a month ago even in sunshine.

Mornings don't feel quite there yet though, probably still 2 weeks away from mire significant improvements.

[*Stormforce~beka*]

2 hours ago, Maz said:

Neither do I really, I'm just trying some positive thinking!!

LOLOL!! I've actually had a really good winter and Autumn over al;. Mostly due to the massive amount of sun we have had. It really does make a difference. I have also tried to embrace the dark. As soon as the curtains get drawn all the lights are on and I also have lots of pretty candles both battery and real and candle lights. And they all go on too.  As my start to embracing/welcoming the coming Spring I went to the shop and brought some little daffodils at the weekend in the new year too. That helps to cheer up January a bit. They are on the dining room table. Just a few little traditions to help with the coping with winter!

[Maz]

9 minutes ago, *Stormforce~beka* said:

LOLOL!! I've actually had a really good winter and Autumn over al;. Mostly due to the massive amount of sun we have had. It really does make a difference. I have also tried to embrace the dark. As soon as the curtains get drawn all the lights are on and I also have lots of pretty candles both battery and real and candle lights. And they all go on too.  As my start to embracing/welcoming the coming Spring I went to the shop and brought some little daffodils at the weekend in the new year too. That helps to cheer up January a bit. They are on the dining room table. Just a few little traditions to help with the coping with winter!

Sunny autumn and upto mid December certainly helped me too.  Crashed since, with lots of typical grey, dreary days.  It was sunny this morning though, and still fairly bright now.  It's my birthday, 6th Feb, which partly explains the positive thinking and trying to use that date to signal the lighter days starting.

[Row w]

50 minutes ago, *Stormforce~beka* said:

LOLOL!! I've actually had a really good winter and Autumn over al;. Mostly due to the massive amount of sun we have had. It really does make a difference. I have also tried to embrace the dark. As soon as the curtains get drawn all the lights are on and I also have lots of pretty candles both battery and real and candle lights. And they all go on too.  As my start to embracing/welcoming the coming Spring I went to the shop and brought some little daffodils at the weekend in the new year too. That helps to cheer up January a bit. They are on the dining room table. Just a few little traditions to help with the coping with winter!

I don't know what it is but I've felt like the after xmas darkness hasn't seemed as bad this year as it has other years, very well could be due to the decent spell of weather we've had recently, definitely noticing the difference in how much lighter the evenings are getting even on a cloudy sunset yesterday it was still fairly light around 5:30pm, looking forward to the long sunny evenings once again.

[Maz]

I’ve never realised how skewed morning and evening are in January in terms of extending daylight.

January sees just over 1hr increase in daylight here, 40 minutes of that in the evening and only 20 minutes in the morning.  February sees a 2hr extension to daylight, split evenly morning and evening.  
 

So it’s not just my mood convincing me the mornings are still dark!

Edited January 26, 2023 by Maz

[Sunny76]

8 hours ago, Summer8906 said:

One thing of note in July is that most of the light loss is in the very early morning, pre-6am, so you don't really notice it. Even at the end of July sunset is close to 9pm.

(Curiously that is a mirror image of January in which most of the light gain is in the afternoon, with only a little in the morning).

About August 10 is when the nights seem to noticeably start drawing in. There then seems to be another "jolt" in the second half of Sep (probably no change in the rate, but the millstone of 7pm is passed) followed of course by the almightly seismic jolt on the last Sunday of Oct when sunset becomes really disproportionately early for the season, earlier than right now. (I've moaned about this a lot up thread, but one issue with late-Oct early-Nov is the very early solar noon, leading to lop-sided days in which it's broad daylight at 6.45am yet going dark by 5pm).

Yeah the big shift is the last Sunday in October, when it becomes full on darkness.

I feel the same when the last Sunday of March passes. We moved into a much lighter time of year and blow away those linger dark evenings that were still present in March.

[cheeky_monkey]

10 hours ago, Summer8906 said:

They must be very early walks!

Sunrise reaches 7am here just after mid-Feb, I think, and remains before 7am after that, even with the clock change.

Edmonton looks like it's on a slightly "later" timezone than the UK, but not drastically so: current sunrise 0828, perhaps half an hour later than here.

yep 5.30am everyday 

[al78]

7 hours ago, *Stormforce~beka* said:

LOLOL!! I've actually had a really good winter and Autumn over al;. Mostly due to the massive amount of sun we have had. It really does make a difference. I have also tried to embrace the dark. As soon as the curtains get drawn all the lights are on and I also have lots of pretty candles both battery and real and candle lights. And they all go on too.  As my start to embracing/welcoming the coming Spring I went to the shop and brought some little daffodils at the weekend in the new year too. That helps to cheer up January a bit. They are on the dining room table. Just a few little traditions to help with the coping with winter!

I didn't get the "massive amounts of sun" claim until I looked at the UKMO monthly anomaly maps and it looks like central southern England had above average sunshine since October inclusive. Here further east sunshine has been average at best and I suspect January 2023 will come out on the dull side.

[al78]

2 hours ago, Maz said:

I’ve never realised how skewed morning and evening are in January in terms of extending daylight.

January sees just over 1hr increase in daylight here, 40 minutes of that in the evening and only 20 minutes in the morning.  February sees a 2hr extension to daylight, split evenly morning and evening.  
 

So it’s not just my mood convincing me the mornings are still dark!

Yes I've noticed it is still light when I leave work in the evening on the days I commute to London but I still need the lights on my bike when I cycle to the station at 7:30am, which is partly because it has been very dull recently.

[*Stormforce~beka*]

1 hour ago, al78 said:

I didn't get the "massive amounts of sun" claim until I looked at the UKMO monthly anomaly maps and it looks like central southern England had above average sunshine since October inclusive. Here further east sunshine has been average at best and I suspect January 2023 will come out on the dull side.

We were very lucky for shizz! If it wasn't for that I'm sure my SAD would have been a lot worse. Bet we pay for it come summer ...

[Maz]

On 26/01/2023 at 20:32, cheeky_monkey said:

yep 5.30am everyday 

I get out around similar time for a walk or run as well.  I like being in my own cocoon, so it being dark doesn’t bother me as such and surprisingly does improve my mood even with SAD. 
 

However, can’t wait for when my time outside starts dark and ends light.  I love being out at the break of day. 
 

Yet another grey, gloomy nothing day today.  Come on spring….

[CJS_25]

The good thing is the rate of increase in sun strength starts to pick up now.  It takes over 5 weeks in London for the sun angle to go from 15 deg to 20 deg but only just over 2 weeks to go from 20 to 25, and sun soon rises 1 deg every 3 days.  The darkest 3 month period ends around 1st/2nd week of Feb. 

[Cheshire Freeze]

5 minutes ago, CJS_25 said:

The good thing is the rate of increase in sun strength starts to pick up now.  It takes over 5 weeks in London for the sun angle to go from 15 deg to 20 deg but only just over 2 weeks to go from 20 to 25, and sun soon rises 1 deg every 3 days.  The darkest 3 month period ends around 1st/2nd week of Feb. 

Yes, February to winter is what August is to summer. I love the sense of relief when August arrives, as the sun starts to rapidly lose altitude.

June and July are the months I find a real endurance test.

[mb018538]

Lovely to see some noticeable daylight again at 7:30am. Once we are out of January I feel much better about things, it's just the worst month of the year without doubt. Light until nearly 5pm, I can forget about the depressing levels of darkness of November-January for another another 9 months now, hurrah!

[RJBingham]

Starting to get that sense of relief and optimisms I usually get this time of year, the worst of the darkness is behind us now.   

[Maz]

3 hours ago, mb018538 said:

Lovely to see some noticeable daylight again at 7:30am. Once we are out of January I feel much better about things, it's just the worst month of the year without doubt. Light until nearly 5pm, I can forget about the depressing levels of darkness of November-January for another another 9 months now, hurrah!

If the current weather wasn't so un-remitting grey and cloudy, I would agree.   However, can't deny the increasing speed at which the sun angle is rising and day length extending, so better days for SAD sufferers are on the way....

(as I wrote that the sun broke through the grey sheet...for about 30 seconds!)

[Maz]

1 hour ago, Maz said:

(as I wrote that the sun broke through the grey sheet...for about 30 seconds!)

Stop the press: it’s sunny at lunchtime for the first time in ages.  Sitting outside, lizard like, soaking up the rays…(well, in a coat and hat, so not much VitD getting in, but it’s great)

[mb018538]

1 hour ago, Maz said:

If the current weather wasn't so un-remitting grey and cloudy, I would agree.   However, can't deny the increasing speed at which the sun angle is rising and day length extending, so better days for SAD sufferers are on the way....

(as I wrote that the sun broke through the grey sheet...for about 30 seconds!)

I'm probably having a different experience to you down here...we've had a very sunny January here, which makes a huge difference.

[*Stormforce~beka*]

It was actually quite light at 730 when my eye lids opened this morning.

[Maz]

1 hour ago, mb018538 said:

I'm probably having a different experience to you down here...we've had a very sunny January here, which makes a huge difference.

The cold spell had some sunny days a couple of weeks ago, but overall since mid December it has been very, very, dull in NW England.  Up here spring and early summer tend to be our sunniest periods with the prevailing westerlies generally at their weakest.