Site & performance · South Africa
Sun path diagram for Johannesburg
Solstice and equinox sun paths, sunrise, sunset and day length for Johannesburg, computed for 2026 in local clock time.
The generator preloads Johannesburg, works out the UTC offset for any date from its time zone, and lets you change the projection, add obstructions and export SVG, PNG or CSV. All calculations run in your browser.
Sunrise, sunset and day length in Johannesburg
Local clock times for 2026 from the SunCalc engine, using the standard −0.833° sunrise and sunset horizon. Solar noon is when the sun crosses the local meridian; noon altitude is its height above the horizon at that moment.
| Date | Clock | Sunrise | Sunset | Solar noon | Day length | Noon altitude |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 20 equinox | UTC+2 | 06:12 | 18:20 | 12:16 | 12 h 08 min | 64.0° |
| June 21 solstice | UTC+2 | 06:55 | 17:25 | 12:10 | 10 h 30 min | 40.4° |
| September 22 equinox | UTC+2 | 05:59 | 18:04 | 12:02 | 12 h 06 min | 63.4° |
| December 21 solstice | UTC+2 | 05:13 | 19:00 | 12:07 | 13 h 47 min | 87.2° |
Where Johannesburg sits and how its clock works
Johannesburg lies at 26.20° south, 28.05° east, in the southern hemisphere's subtropical belt. Its clocks follow the Africa/Johannesburg time zone, UTC+2 all year, so no daylight-saving shift applies to the times on this page.
Sun angles through the year in Johannesburg
The sun is highest on December 21, reaching 87.2° above the horizon at solar noon (12:07 local time). On June 21 it climbs only to 40.4°. The 46.9° difference is twice the 23.44° tilt of Earth's axis. At the March and September equinoxes the noon sun stands at about 63.7°, which is 90° minus the latitude. At solar noon the sun is always to the north, so the north-facing side of a building is the sunny one all year.
Sunrise swings a long way along the horizon during the year. On December 21 the sun rises at azimuth 116.6° (south-east) and sets at 243.1° (south-west); on June 21 it rises at 64° and sets at 295.8°. At the equinoxes it rises close to due east and sets close to due west. That 53° swing is why an east-facing window in Johannesburg gets generous summer morning sun and much less in midwinter.
Day length, sunrise and sunset
Daylight runs from 13 h 47 min on December 21 to 10 h 30 min on June 21, a difference of 3 h 17 min. Sunrise moves between 05:13 and 06:55 across the year and sunset between 17:25 and 19:00 on the local clock. Solar noon falls at 12:07 on December 21 and 12:10 on June 21, close to the middle of the day.
What this means for buildings in Johannesburg
For design, the north-facing facade is the one to work with. In summer the noon sun at 87.2° is steep enough for a modest horizontal overhang to shade it, while in winter, at 40.4°, the sun passes under the same overhang and warms the room. East and west facades take low-angle sun morning and evening in every season and are better protected with vertical fins, external blinds or planting than with overhangs. The south-facing side sees only early and late summer sun.
Reading the diagram
The diagram uses the equidistant projection: the centre is the zenith, the outer ring is the horizon and the rings between mark 30° and 60° altitude, with north at the top and azimuth running clockwise. The dark curve is the September equinox, amber is June 21 and grey is December 21; the band between the amber and grey curves is the only part of the sky the sun ever occupies over Johannesburg, and dots mark every second clock hour. Open the generator to switch to a stereographic projection, choose any date, add up to eight obstructions and export the diagram as SVG or PNG, or the hourly data as CSV.