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Today, 20. March 2026, Gains 8 Minutes of Daylight on the Cusp of the Equinox

Published: March 20, 2026  ·  Period: 2026-03-20

On this Friday, March 20, 2026, the sun will rise at 06:30 and set at 18:43, granting us 12 hours and 13 minutes of daylight. The preceding night will last a slightly shorter 11 hours and 47 minutes. This is day 79 of the year, a moment perched right on the cusp of spring. It has already been 89 days since the shortest day of winter, and we are just one day away from the official spring equinox, when day and night will briefly meet as equals.

Today, we gain a generous 8 minutes of daylight compared to yesterday. This bonus is split evenly, with the sun rising 4 minutes earlier and setting 4 minutes later, as if it’s stretching its schedule in both directions to make the most of the awakening season. Since the last equinox, we have collectively gained over 223 minutes of light, a steady and welcome climb out of the dark.

As a brief aside, today’s date marks the spring equinox: the specific moment when the sun crosses the celestial equator, happening at the same instant globally, though the actual day and night lengths aren't perfectly equal.


Table 1: Key figures for Daylight time in Basel on 2026-03-20
label value
Date Mar 20, 2026
Sunrise 06:30
Sunset 18:43
Daylight (min) 733
Daylight gain in minutes since yesterday 8.0

Figure 1: Daylight in Basel by day of the Year in Basel

Data source: API from sunrise-sunset.org
Additional resources: timeanddate

🤖 This text was generated with the assistance of AI. All quantitative statements are derived directly from the dataset listed under Data Source.