Blue hour today, by city
Blue hour is when the sun is between 4° and 8° below the horizon, before sunrise and after sunset. There is no direct sun, and the sky lights everything. Pick a city and a day for the morning and evening blue hour, to the minute, on that city's own clock.
Evening blue hour · Tue, Nov 3
5:07 to 5:29 PM
Times in Eastern Standard Time, on New York's own clock. The week ahead and the year are on the city's golden hour page.
Blue hour in 40 cities
On November 3, 2026, each on its own clock. Every city links to its golden hour page.
| City | Morning blue hour | Evening blue hour | Evening, how long |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 5:49 to 6:10 AM | 5:07 to 5:29 PM | 22 min |
| Los Angeles | 5:38 to 5:58 AM | 5:14 to 5:34 PM | 20 min |
| Chicago | 5:45 to 6:07 AM | 5:00 to 5:22 PM | 22 min |
| Dallas | 6:11 to 6:30 AM | 5:50 to 6:09 PM | 19 min |
| Houston | 6:02 to 6:21 AM | 5:48 to 6:07 PM | 19 min |
| Atlanta | 6:22 to 6:42 AM | 5:59 to 6:19 PM | 20 min |
| Washington, DC | 5:59 to 6:20 AM | 5:22 to 5:43 PM | 21 min |
| Philadelphia | 5:52 to 6:14 AM | 5:13 to 5:35 PM | 21 min |
| Miami | 5:57 to 6:15 AM | 5:52 to 6:10 PM | 18 min |
| Phoenix | 6:13 to 6:32 AM | 5:50 to 6:10 PM | 20 min |
| Boston | 5:39 to 6:01 AM | 4:53 to 5:15 PM | 22 min |
| Riverside | 5:34 to 5:54 AM | 5:11 to 5:30 PM | 20 min |
| San Francisco | 5:59 to 6:20 AM | 5:25 to 5:46 PM | 21 min |
| Detroit | 6:27 to 6:49 AM | 5:41 to 6:03 PM | 22 min |
| Seattle | 6:11 to 6:36 AM | 5:08 to 5:33 PM | 24 min |
| Minneapolis | 6:11 to 6:34 AM | 5:17 to 5:40 PM | 23 min |
| Tampa | 6:08 to 6:27 AM | 5:59 to 6:17 PM | 18 min |
| San Diego | 5:32 to 5:52 AM | 5:11 to 5:31 PM | 19 min |
| Denver | 5:51 to 6:13 AM | 5:13 to 5:34 PM | 21 min |
| Orlando | 6:04 to 6:23 AM | 5:54 to 6:12 PM | 19 min |
| Charlotte | 6:10 to 6:30 AM | 5:43 to 6:03 PM | 20 min |
| Baltimore | 5:57 to 6:18 AM | 5:20 to 5:41 PM | 21 min |
| St. Louis | 5:51 to 6:12 AM | 5:15 to 5:36 PM | 21 min |
| San Antonio | 6:14 to 6:33 AM | 6:01 to 6:20 PM | 19 min |
| Austin | 6:12 to 6:31 AM | 5:57 to 6:16 PM | 19 min |
| London | 06:08 to 06:34 | 16:52 to 17:18 | 27 min |
| Paris | 06:54 to 07:19 | 17:48 to 18:13 | 25 min |
| Berlin | 06:15 to 06:43 | 16:55 to 17:23 | 27 min |
| Rome | 06:04 to 06:26 | 17:20 to 17:42 | 22 min |
| Madrid | 07:07 to 07:28 | 18:27 to 18:48 | 22 min |
| Lisbon | 06:27 to 06:48 | 17:51 to 18:12 | 21 min |
| Toronto | 06:14 to 06:37 | 17:24 to 17:47 | 23 min |
| Vancouver | 06:17 to 06:42 | 17:08 to 17:33 | 25 min |
| Mexico City | 06:06 to 06:24 | 18:15 to 18:33 | 17 min |
| Mumbai | 06:08 to 06:25 | 18:18 to 18:35 | 17 min |
| Tokyo | 05:27 to 05:48 | 17:01 to 17:21 | 20 min |
| Seoul | 06:20 to 06:41 | 17:49 to 18:09 | 21 min |
| Sydney | 05:15 to 05:36 | 19:41 to 20:02 | 21 min |
| Cape Town | 05:06 to 05:27 | 19:32 to 19:53 | 21 min |
| Dubai | 05:54 to 06:12 | 17:51 to 18:09 | 18 min |
What blue hour is
Once the sun is 4° below the horizon there is no direct light left at all. The sky becomes the only source, one enormous soft box, and it is blue. Faces go soft and even, shadows almost disappear, and anything lit by a lamp in frame starts to glow against the sky: windows, street lights, a car's headlights, a practical on a porch. By 8° below the sky has gone too dark to carry a wide shot without help, and blue hour is over.
It comes twice a day. In the evening it follows golden hour straight after sunset. In the morning it comes first, before sunrise, and golden hour follows it. Sites and apps draw the edges in slightly different places, so their times can differ by a few minutes from these. These pages use the same band as Cutvey Meter, 4° to 8° below, so the call sheet and the phone agree.
How long it lasts
Blue hour is short, and almost never an hour. How long it lasts depends on how steeply the sun sinks below the horizon, which depends on how far you are from the equator and on the time of year. Near the equator the sun drops almost straight down and the whole band passes in under twenty minutes. Far from the equator in summer the sun slides along under the horizon and the blue lingers for forty minutes or more.
Evening blue hour through the year
| Place and day, 2026 | Evening blue hour | How long |
|---|---|---|
| New York, March equinox | 7:25 to 7:46 PM | 21 min |
| New York, June solstice | 8:51 to 9:18 PM | 27 min |
| New York, December solstice | 4:51 to 5:14 PM | 23 min |
| London, March equinox | 6:34 to 7:00 PM | 26 min |
| London, June solstice | 9:50 to 10:31 PM | 41 min |
| London, December solstice | 4:19 to 4:48 PM | 30 min |
| Mumbai, March equinox | 7:03 to 7:19 PM | 17 min |
| Mumbai, June solstice | 7:33 to 7:52 PM | 19 min |
| Mumbai, December solstice | 6:21 to 6:39 PM | 18 min |
Local times, worked out with the same solar maths and bands as the app, on a flat horizon.
Shooting it
Treat it like golden hour, only shorter. Light the scene and rehearse it before the sun goes, and shoot the shot that needs the deepest sky last. The light falls the whole time, so expect to open up or push the ISO as you go, and keep an eye on the practicals: a lamp that looked too bright at sunset can be right ten minutes later.
Decide the white balance on purpose. Balance for daylight and the sky stays a rich blue while tungsten practicals glow orange against it. Balance warmer toward tungsten and the blue deepens further. Balance for the sky itself and you lose the look you came for. Reading the sky's kelvin at the start of the window, and again halfway through, tells you how fast it is moving.
How we work it out
The sun's position comes from the method the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) publishes, the same one Cutvey Meter runs. We find the moments the sun crosses 4° and 8° below the horizon and print them on each city's own clock, daylight saving included. The times assume a flat horizon: a ridge or a row of buildings to the west brings the dark sooner. This page never asks where you are; it starts on a city that shares your device's time zone, and nothing you pick leaves your browser.
On set
A tap on the wrist before the evening blue hour.
Cutvey Meter shows today's light windows on iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch, and its alert can tap you 15 minutes before each golden hour and the evening blue hour. The morning blue hour has no alert, so set your own alarm for that one.
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