Have you noticed the days are getting longer? Right across New Zealand the sun is rising earlier and setting later as we slowly grind towards Spring.

WeatherWatch.co.nz has crunched the numbers and worked out just how much more daylight we’re getting compared to the shortest day of the year which was just over a month ago in late June.

• Auckland: An extra 50 minutes of sunlight.
• Wellington: An extra 61 minutes of sunlight.
• Christchurch: An extra 67 minutes of sunlight.
• Dunedin: An extra 73 minutes of sunlight. 

Since the shortest day of the year the South Island and lower North Island have gained over an hour of sunlight each day, while further north it’s around 50 to 45 minutes more sunlight than in late June. 

The days will continue to grow longer, faster, as we head towards the Spring Equinox in late September – which is when many people celebrate the start of spring (the astronomical start of spring).

WeatherWatch.co.nz observes the meteorological start of Spring which in New Zealand is on September 1st – and some argue in northern centres like Auckland and Northland it starts even earlier if you go by the appearance of leaves, buds and flowers.  Certainly this year that appears to be the case!

– WeatherWatch.co.nz