In shortThe Earth's axis is tilted, so through the year the sun climbs higher or lower over Afghanistan. In Kabul the longest day, around 1 Saratan, lasts 14 hours and 28 minutes; the shortest, around 1 Jadi, 9 hours and 51 minutes. The four seasons begin at the equinoxes and solstices, which fall around the first day of Hamal, Saratan, Mizan and Jadi.
How long is a day in Kabul?
The table shows Kabul's day on the first day of four months, from sunrise to sunset:
| Day | Sunrise | Sunset | Day length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Hamal | 5:56 | 18:06 | 12 h 9 min |
| 1 Saratan | 4:41 | 19:09 | 14 h 28 min |
| 1 Mizan | 5:42 | 17:49 | 12 h 7 min |
| 1 Jadi | 6:56 | 16:47 | 9 h 51 min |
On the longest day the sun climbs to 78.9 degrees above the horizon at noon; on the shortest, only to 32.0 degrees.1 Even at the equinoxes the day lasts a few minutes more than 12 hours, because sunrise and sunset are counted from the sun's upper edge, and the air bends its light over the horizon.1
Kabul today
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Why the days change: a tilted Earth
The Earth's axis is tilted, by about 23.44 degrees.2 As the Earth goes around the sun, its northern half leans toward the sun for half of the year and away from it for the other half.3 When it leans toward the sun, in Afghanistan's summer, the sun climbs higher and stays longer above the horizon; in winter it stays low and the days are short.
The seasons do not come from the Earth's distance to the sun: the Earth is closest to the sun in January, in the middle of Afghanistan's winter, and farthest in July.3
The four seasons and the Shamsi months
The Shamsi year starts on 1 Hamal, at the March equinox, when day and night are about equal everywhere. The other turning points follow the months: the June solstice, the longest day, falls on 31 Jawza or 1 Saratan; the September equinox around 1 Mizan; the December solstice, the shortest day, on 30 Qaws or 1 Jadi.1 So each season takes three months:
- Spring: Hamal, Sawr and Jawza
- Summer: Saratan, Asad and Sunbula
- Autumn: Mizan, Aqrab and Qaws
- Winter: Jadi, Dalw and Hut
Because the calendar follows the sun, a Shamsi date has the same sunrise and sunset in every year, within two minutes.1
Calendar The Shamsi months with their Qamari and Gregorian dates, for every year.North and south: Fayzabad and Zaranj
Afghanistan reaches from about 29.4 degrees north on the Pakistani border to 38.5 degrees north on the Panj river.4 The further north a place is, the longer its summer days and the shorter its winter days:
| City | Latitude (degrees north) | Longest day | Shortest day |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fayzabad | 37.1 | 14 h 43 min | 9 h 37 min |
| Kabul | 34.5 | 14 h 28 min | 9 h 51 min |
| Zaranj | 31.0 | 14 h 9 min | 10 h 8 min |
East and west: why the sun rises later in Herat
All of Afghanistan keeps one time, so the sun's hours shift with longitude: in Herat, seven degrees west of Kabul, the sun rises and sets 27 to 28 minutes later than in Kabul all year.1 Why the clock is four and a half hours ahead of universal time is the subject of why is Afghanistan on UTC+4:30?
Sunrise and sunset Sun times in Kabul and every provincial capital, for every day of the year.Sources
- 1 This site's calculation with the Astronomical Almanac's formulas for the sun: sunrise and sunset are the moment the sun's upper edge meets a flat horizon, with the air's bending of light, as in published tables; the same as on this site's sunrise and sunset pages. The Astronomical Almanac, section C: low-precision formulas for the Sun (U.S. Naval Observatory and HM Nautical Almanac Office)
- 2 The tilt of the Earth's axis. Wikipedia, “Axial tilt”. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Axial_tilt (2026-11-12)
- 3 Why the Earth has seasons, and when it is closest to and farthest from the sun. NASA Space Place, “What Causes the Seasons?”. spaceplace.nasa.gov/seasons/en (2026-11-12)
- 4 Afghanistan's extreme points, with coordinates from Google Earth. Wikipedia, “Extreme points of Afghanistan” (coordinates from Google Earth). en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extreme_points_of_Afghanistan (2026-11-12)
- 5 The coordinates of the provincial capitals, the same ones this site's sunrise and sunset pages use. Wikidata, the coordinates of the 34 provincial capitals (checked 2026-11-07). wikidata.org
Every number in this article comes from one of these sources or from Waqt's own calculations. Seen a mistake? Write to us