Solar noon calculator
Solar noon is the moment the sun reaches its highest point in your sky. It is not the same as 12:00 on your clock — it depends on your longitude, your time zone, the date, and the equation of time. This calculator shows today's solar noon for your exact location.
Solar noon where you are
Detecting your location…
Solar noon is the midpoint between sunrise and sunset. At that instant the sun is due south for observers in the Northern Hemisphere, and due north for the Southern Hemisphere. It is also the moment of maximum solar altitude and the shortest shadows of the day.
Solar noon drifts through the year because of the equation of time, which combines the Earth's elliptical orbit with the tilt of its axis. The drift can put solar noon up to about 16 minutes before or after clock noon, even ignoring daylight saving time.
Allow location access above for today's solar noon at your exact position. The list below shows solar noon for the same instant in major cities, each linking to the full sun-position data for that city.
Solar noon today in major cities
- ShanghaiChina11:51
- BeijingChina12:11
- ShenzhenChina12:20
- GuangzhouChina12:24
- KinshasaCongo - Kinshasa11:56
- IstanbulTürkiye13:01
- LagosNigeria12:43
- Ho Chi Minh CityVietnam11:50
- ChengduChina13:00
- LahorePakistan11:59
- MumbaiIndia12:35
- São PauloBrazil12:03
- Mexico CityMexico12:33
- KarachiPakistan12:29
- TianjinChina12:08
- DelhiIndia12:18
- WuhanChina12:20
- MoscowRussia12:26
- DhakaBangladesh11:55
- SeoulSouth Korea12:29
- TokyoJapan11:38
- DongguanChina12:22
- CairoEgypt12:52
- Xi’anChina12:41
Frequently asked questions
What is solar noon?▼
Solar noon is the moment when the sun is at its highest point in the sky for your location. It is the midpoint between sunrise and sunset, and the moment of shortest shadows. It is rarely the same as 12:00 on the clock.
Why is solar noon not at 12:00?▼
Three reasons. First, your time zone is a wide strip but you are at one specific longitude inside it, so the sun crosses your meridian early or late depending on where you sit in the zone. Second, daylight saving time pushes the clock by an hour relative to the sun. Third, the equation of time shifts solar noon by up to 16 minutes depending on the date.
How is solar noon calculated?▼
Solar noon is the moment the sun crosses your local meridian, computed from your longitude, the date, and the equation of time. Solarc uses Astronomy Engine and matches the NOAA Solar Calculator to within about one minute.
How do I find solar noon for any location?▼
Either allow location access above for your exact solar noon, or tap a point on the interactive map to see the same data anywhere on Earth. The list below covers most major time zones at a glance.