Searches for “sunrise time in Delhi today” and “sunset time Mumbai” are among the most common solar queries in India — and they should be. Under one IST clock, five metros can disagree by an hour, and north–south day length is a second, quieter split.
This guide gives typical 2026 IST windows, explains why Bengaluru barely notices the seasons while Delhi swings by hours, and points you to public viewpoints. For live times, open the city page rather than memorising the table.
Quick IST Ranges (2026 Solstices)
Times below are official sunrise and sunset (upper limb on a flat horizon) in Asia/Kolkata, computed with NOAA/Meeus-style algorithms.
| City | June 21 sunrise / sunset | Dec 21 sunrise / sunset | Day length (Jun → Dec) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Delhi | 5:25 AM / 7:22 PM | 7:09 AM / 5:28 PM | 13h 57m → 10h 19m |
| Mumbai | 6:01 AM / 7:18 PM | 7:06 AM / 6:05 PM | 13h 17m → 10h 59m |
| Kolkata | 4:53 AM / 6:23 PM | 6:11 AM / 4:56 PM | 13h 30m → 10h 45m |
| Bengaluru | 5:54 AM / 6:48 PM | 6:36 AM / 5:58 PM | 12h 54m → 11h 22m |
| Chennai | 5:43 AM / 6:37 PM | 6:25 AM / 5:47 PM | 12h 54m → 11h 22m |
| Hyderabad | 5:42 AM / 6:52 PM | 6:41 AM / 5:46 PM | 13h 10m → 11h 05m |
| Jaipur | 5:33 AM / 7:23 PM | 7:11 AM / 5:37 PM | 13h 50m → 10h 26m |
| Kochi | 6:05 AM / 6:47 PM | 6:36 AM / 6:08 PM | 12h 42m → 11h 32m |
Around the March equinox, day length is close to 12 hours 6 minutes in every Indian city on this list. The remaining difference is almost all clock time from longitude, not day length. That east–west clock story is unpacked in India’s one time zone explained.
North vs South: Who Notices the Seasons?
India stretches from about 8°N (Kanyakumari) to the high 30s in Kashmir. Day length follows latitude:
- Delhi, Jaipur, Chandigarh (~27–31°N): long June evenings, short December days — almost a 3 hour 40 minute swing in Delhi.
- Hyderabad, Mumbai, Kolkata (~17–23°N): a clear but milder seasonal change.
- Bengaluru, Chennai, Kochi (~10–13°N): sunrise and sunset drift by roughly 40–50 minutes across the year. Golden hour stays short and punchy.
The Tropic of Cancer (~23.5°N) crosses Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, West Bengal, and the northeast. Near Ahmedabad around the June solstice, the midday Sun climbs close to overhead — harsh for portraits, useful for solar panels, and a reminder that “noon heat” is a solar-altitude fact, not a clock-noon fact.
City Notes for Planners and Photographers
Delhi
Summer sunrise before 5:30 AM; winter sunrise after 7:00 AM with fog that can hide the disk. Best public light: India Gate, Lodhi Garden, Qutub Minar, Yamuna Ghat. Evening golden hour in June can run toward 7:00 PM IST.
Mumbai
Arabian Sea sunsets are the headline; clock times run later than the east. Marine Drive, Bandra Fort, Juhu Beach, Worli Sea Face face the water. Monsoon low cloud often blocks the western horizon even when the astronomical sunset has occurred.
Kolkata
Earliest of the metros. Dawn at Prinsep Ghat and Howrah Bridge can be underway before 5:00 AM in June. Winter sunsets land before 5:00 PM — plan Hooghly shoots on the clock, not on a Delhi habit.
Bengaluru
Nandi Hills and Skandagiri are classic pre-dawn drives. City sunrise stays in a narrower band (~5:54 AM in June, ~6:36 AM in December). Elevation (~920 m) does not rewrite the timetable much; it can sharpen colour on clear winter mornings.
Chennai
Bay of Bengal sunrises at Marina Beach and Elliot’s Beach are the opposite of Mumbai’s west-facing evenings. Chennai is east of Bengaluru, so the disk appears about 10 minutes earlier on the same date.
Golden Hour in India: Shorter in the South
Golden hour is when the Sun sits roughly +6° to −4°. Near the equator the Sun dives steeply, so the window is brief; farther north it lingers.
| Region | Typical golden-hour length | Practical tip |
|---|---|---|
| Kochi / Chennai / Bengaluru | ~25–35 minutes | Arrive early; the colour peak does not wait |
| Mumbai / Hyderabad / Kolkata | ~30–45 minutes | Pair sea or river reflections with the short window |
| Delhi / Jaipur | ~35–50 minutes | Winter low Sun stretches warm light; summer is earlier on the clock |
Use the Golden Hour calculator for the exact IST start and end, then stay for blue hour if city lights are the goal — Hussain Sagar, Marine Drive, and India Gate all balance sky and lamps in that brief twilight.
Weather That Changes What You See
Tables assume a clear geometric horizon. India often does not:
- Winter fog (North India): tabulated sunrise can beat the first visible disk by 15–40 minutes.
- Monsoon (June–September): western sunsets fail when a low deck sits on the Arabian Sea; a break after rain can be spectacular.
- Pre-monsoon dust and urban haze: deeper oranges and reds, or a brown disk that never quite “sets.” Physics: why sunsets look red.
- Hill stations and ghats: a ridge due west delays visible sunset after the official time.
How to Use Sunset Sunrise Today in India
- Start at Sunrise & Sunset in India for the national calendar and city grid.
- Open your metro page for today’s IST sunrise, sunset, solar noon, and a 12-month overview.
- Add the popular places guide for that city when you need a viewpoint, not only a time.
- For day-length trends, use the Day Length calculator. For word meanings (dawn vs sunrise), see Dawn vs Dusk.
India’s solar day is generous, punctual, and unevenly labelled by a single timezone. Pick the city, pick the horizon, and let the clock follow the longitude — not the other way around.