Nights in Latvia now longer than days as autumn deepens
As of September 26, nighttime hours in Latvia exceed daytime hours, a trend that will continue until spring, according to timeanddate.com.
Latvia has crossed the point where the dark hours of the day now outnumber the daylight hours, according to information from the website timeanddate.com.
This year's autumn equinox, marking the start of astronomical autumn, occurred early Wednesday, September 23. By Friday, day and night were nearly equal in length, and since Saturday, September 26, nights have been longer than days.
Daylight shrinking fastest right now
The second half of September is when daylight hours shrink at their fastest rate of the year — by nearly five minutes (4 minutes 46 seconds) each day. This contraction will continue until the winter solstice on December 21, when astronomical winter begins and daylight reaches its shortest point of the year.
After the winter solstice, the trend will reverse, with daylight gradually lengthening again. The balance will tip back in favor of day over night on March 18 of next year.
Darkest period begins in November
Experts note that the so-called solar winter — the three darkest months of the year — will run from November 6 to February 4. During this stretch, daylight in Latvia will not exceed nine hours.
The shortest day of the year will be December 21, when the sun will shine in Riga for only about six hours and 43 minutes.
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