Have You Noticed The Reduction In Daylight Hours Yet ?

[Boydie]

I have the lights back on the pushbike for my commute, up hear its still pretty dark at half six.I ride to work all year round( studded tyres etc) and have really noticed the change in recent days, I'm now needing warmer brighter clothing,and my glasses to stop the watery eyes.

[Bottesford]

I always feel like the darker nights of winter and the lighter days of summer, come in waves of one hour.

It'll seem to stay light until 9pm for ages and ages and them overnight, it'll lose an hour and we'll be getting dark at eight, and then it'll stay like that for ages and then we lose another hour, if you see what I mean?

I really do yes! Think its the brain fooling us a bit however when it comes to 8pm darkness. The post 9pm (and sadly the pre 4pm) does indeed go on for a long time of course. Love the long evenings - so much freedom to do outdoor stuff during the working week unlike how its now going being restricted to the weekends only.

[Coast]

It's playing havoc with my sleep patterns this year and I'm not sure why. Have we had less natural light through this Summer maybe and now my body is completely shutting down as if going into hibernation? I really do think that it could be quite a long Winter this year, maybe it's my current attitude but for once I'm not really looking forward to it as it seems I have been cheated by the lack of a Summer.

[cheeky_monkey]

have now dipped below 13hrs of daylight...sunrise 7.01am..sunset 8.00pm

[Kiwi]

It's playing havoc with my sleep patterns this year and I'm not sure why. Have we had less natural light through this Summer maybe and now my body is completely shutting down as if going into hibernation? I really do think that it could be quite a long Winter this year, maybe it's my current attitude but for once I'm not really looking forward to it as it seems I have been cheated by the lack of a Summer.

And there was me thinking that the sun never sets on Eastbourne!

But, yes I know what you mean Coast . The lack of sunshine over the summer has got me down somewhat. This week has been a welcome respite, but I'm not looking forward to the short cloudy days of autumn and winter.

[Cheshire Freeze]

And there was me thinking that the sun never sets on Eastbourne!

I'm not looking forward to the short cloudy days of autumn and winter.

A reason to wish for cold, crisp, possibly snowy winter days then rather than mild, dank SW'lys. It amuses me that supposed sun lovers on this forum wish for mild winters when they'd probably see more of the sun in a clear, crisp and cold airstream in winter!

Oh how I love snow on the ground, a deep blue sky, bitter cold and the promise of further snow to follow. Doesn't happen very often unfortunately!

[Milhouse]

A reason to wish for cold, crisp, possibly snowy winter days then rather than mild, dank SW'lys. It amuses me that supposed sun lovers on this forum wish for mild winters when they'd probably see more of the sun in a clear, crisp and cold airstream in winter!

Actually last winter saw sunshine amounts very similar to the previous 3 colder winters with eastern England ending up far sunnier. Its also interesting to note most winters during the noughties had average or above average sunshine despite many being on the mild side.

http://www.metoffice...te/uk/anomacts/

http://www.metoffice...y_1971-2000.gif

Other mild winters

07/08 http://www.metoffice...y_1971-2000.gif

06/07 http://www.metoffice...y_1971-2000.gif

04/05 http://www.metoffice...y_1971-2000.gif

03/04 http://www.metoffice...y_1971-2000.gif

01/02 http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/climate/uk/anomacts/2002/16/2002_16_Sunshine_Anomaly_1971-2000.gif

Edited September 6, 2012 by Milhouse

[Aaron]

Nothing better than waking up to a cold winter's morning with the sun shining on the glimmering white frost.. it makes the bare trees look better, and temporarily covers up the muddy fields, and makes them hard so my shoes don't get stuck!

Anyway, somewhat surprising to see how sunny some of those winters are considering many of them were very wet with flooding (a consequence of the mild westerlies I suppose..)

Edited September 6, 2012 by Aaron

[Jimmyh]

hate the drawing in so depressing enjoying the last blasts of summer before what i hink could have the potential to be a stormy kind of a winter. Not basing that on anything just my feeling that's all

[Bottesford]

Last winter was very very sunny here - it was lovely! The total lack of easterlies is what did it I think. I know we can get clear, icy easterlies but 8/10 times they are cloud laden drizzly things with uniform temperatures 24 hours a day - usually around 2-5c depending on time of year and source.

Absolutely those really cold icy mornings with sunshine are fantastic - with ice hanging off the trees and a thick frost. But lets be honest - most of winter is nothing like this. The average max is about 4-6c in January and average mins are above 0c. There is nothing whatsoever exciting, pleasant or interesting in temps 2-6c. Even less so when its cloudy with rain or drizzle.

Last winter was mild - but it was also very sunny making it one of my favourites. I do like snow and frost but most of winter is just 'cold' but not cold cold and is just dark, grey and expensive.

[Met4Cast]

I must be one of the only people on here that actually prefers the darker evenings. I think it must stem from when I was younger, my parents split up, mum moved to Kent and dad stayed in London so on weekends, coming home at 6PM in the summer felt more like mid-afternoon but in the winter, come 6PM it was dark and felt a lot later than it actually was.

That, and I just prefer the dark, cool nights

[laserguy]

have now dipped below 13hrs of daylight...sunrise 7.01am..sunset 8.00pm

We're getting there........

[Relativistic]

I must be one of the only people on here that actually prefers the darker evenings. I think it must stem from when I was younger, my parents split up, mum moved to Kent and dad stayed in London so on weekends, coming home at 6PM in the summer felt more like mid-afternoon but in the winter, come 6PM it was dark and felt a lot later than it actually was.

That, and I just prefer the dark, cool nights

I love the darker days as well. Don't know why, I just do!

[philglossop]

It certainly galloping along now- 0639 and 1950 today for me.

Give it a week and we're at 0650 and 1935.

By the 30th September its 0716 and 1857.

As someone with seasonal affected disorder (but in my case its summer thats the problem), I'm oddly starting to feel better day by day now and I'll start to decrease my anti depressants in the next week or so.

[Bottesford]

By the 30th September its 0716 and 1857.

Those times are almost my 'limit of acceptableness' for day length (might just push it to 0730/1830). Sunrise any later and sunset any earlier means not seeing my house in daylight from Sunday night to Saturday morning - very depressing.

[East_England_Stormchaser91]

Really noticing it now, infact, as I speak it is getting dimmer already! Sooo depressing! Mind you, I'm looking forward to winter, as the prospects of more snow compared to storms for this year has to be a certainty! Never known such a poor year really, especially for night storms, there have been none whatsoever to speak about. Maybe next summer, we might be in for a reunion of a 'middle-of-the-night' awakening by a spectacular one. Where have those days gone eh?

[Bottesford]

Same place the sun & warm went - everywhere but the UK!

[Essan]

Those times are almost my 'limit of acceptableness' for day length (might just push it to 0730/1830). Sunrise any later and sunset any earlier means not seeing my house in daylight from Sunday night to Saturday morning - very depressing.

Think yourself lucky. Essan doesn't see the sun at all from November to mid February. Regardless of how inaccurate our clocks are.

[Turnedoutniceagain]

All over here at 8:10pm.....

[damianslaw]

From now through until the clocks go back the rate of loss of daylight from day to day is at its greatest, conversely mid Feb - clocks going forward is the period of year when we see the greatest rate of increased level of daylight from day to day. On average we are loosing 2 minutes in the morning and 2 minutes in the evening, might not sound much, but in the space of 2 weeks we loose 1 hour of daylight i.e. 30 mins in the morning and 30 mins evening, by the end of September the sun rises at 7am and sets at 6.40pm greenwich meantime.

However, early-mid september can still feel quite light here when we get sunny cloudless days, take Tuesday evening for instance which saw a glorious sunset and it never really started to get dark until 8.30pm. However, on dull wet evenings the light levels really do start dropping off now, take today for instance and it felt positively very dull by 6.30pm and it was proper dark by 8pm. There is no denying the fact that special May-June feeling seems a long time ago now and the light at this time of year takes on a very different feel with longer shadows and more of a mellow haziness combined with a much less powerful sunshine - September is probably the most 'wistful' month of the year.

[AWD]

Those times are almost my 'limit of acceptableness' for day length (might just push it to 0730/1830). Sunrise any later and sunset any earlier means not seeing my house in daylight from Sunday night to Saturday morning - very depressing.

Except Christmas Day? Surely Bottesford doesn't work Christmas Day? Lol.

[Glaswegianblizzard]

I love the darker days as well. Don't know why, I just do!

So do I, again not sure why.

Don't mind the mid summer nights too, where it's not dark until after 10pm, but there's something about the midwinter. Might be reminders of the cosyness of being indoors on an autumn or winters day. Kind of like the Danish concept of hygge.

[Aaron]

I like the variety in the daylight hours here. There's something almost exotic about the short winter days, for example in December 2010, the sun was low in the sky, very low, and there was a blanket of snow.. it felt like I was in Scandinavia or something.

[Bottesford]

However, early-mid september can still feel quite light here when we get sunny cloudless days, take Tuesday evening for instance which saw a glorious sunset and it never really started to get dark until 8.30pm. However, on dull wet evenings the light levels really do start dropping off now, take today for instance and it felt positively very dull by 6.30pm and it was proper dark by 8pm. There is no denying the fact that special May-June feeling seems a long time ago now and the light at this time of year takes on a very different feel with longer shadows and more of a mellow haziness combined with a much less powerful sunshine - September is probably the most 'wistful' month of the year.

Agree 100% it really has a certain 'feel' September does. Still quite often every bit as warm or (in the case of this year) warmer than many parts of summer but the shadows are long - even at lunchtime - and the light 'different'... almost stale but not in a bad way as such, just matured and best enjoyed now before its gone. Bit like how March - still cold generally - has this huge impact of intense 'fresh' light with darkness starting to feel like a retreating entity at long last.

[Coast]

Bright sunshine streaming in this morning but still feeling the shortening of the daylight even more this year. Lets hope the cloud stays off and we get some decent sunsets and sunrises this September.