For those who live in a far northern or southern region of the planet, this will not be news, but for the vast majority of people who do not, the idea that the sun will not set in the summer until what is traditionally viewed as ‘night’ and will rise far too early in the morning is very foreign. Look at the chart below, showing sunrise and sunset times for Cardiff (which is in southern Wales) for June 2010. Note that for the entire month, the sun rise varies by 7 minutes: rising at 5:02 am, reaching 4:55 am in the middle of the month, and by the end of the month is again at 4:59 am. Sunset varies by 13 minutes, peaking at a 16 hour, 38 minute ‘day’.
| 1-Jun-10 | 5:02 AM | 9:20 PM | 16h 18m 32s |
| 2-Jun-10 | 5:01 AM | 9:21 PM | 16h 20m 23s |
| 3-Jun-10 | 5:00 AM | 9:22 PM | 16h 22m 08s |
| 4-Jun-10 | 4:59 AM | 9:23 PM | 16h 23m 49s |
| 5-Jun-10 | 4:59 AM | 9:24 PM | 16h 25m 23s |
| 6-Jun-10 | 4:58 AM | 9:25 PM | 16h 26m 54s |
| 7-Jun-10 | 4:58 AM | 9:26 PM | 16h 28m 19s |
| 8-Jun-10 | 4:57 AM | 9:27 PM | 16h 29m 38s |
| 9-Jun-10 | 4:57 AM | 9:28 PM | 16h 30m 51s |
| 10-Jun-10 | 4:56 AM | 9:28 PM | 16h 31m 59s |
| 11-Jun-10 | 4:56 AM | 9:29 PM | 16h 33m 01s |
| 12-Jun-10 | 4:56 AM | 9:30 PM | 16h 33m 58s |
| 13-Jun-10 | 4:56 AM | 9:30 PM | 16h 34m 49s |
| 14-Jun-10 | 4:55 AM | 9:31 PM | 16h 35m 33s |
| 15-Jun-10 | 4:55 AM | 9:31 PM | 16h 36m 12s |
| 16-Jun-10 | 4:55 AM | 9:32 PM | 16h 36m 45s |
| 17-Jun-10 | 4:55 AM | 9:32 PM | 16h 37m 12s |
| 18-Jun-10 | 4:55 AM | 9:33 PM | 16h 37m 33s |
| 19-Jun-10 | 4:55 AM | 9:33 PM | 16h 37m 48s |
| 20-Jun-10 | 4:55 AM | 9:33 PM | 16h 37m 57s |
| 21-Jun-10 | 4:56 AM | 9:34 PM | 16h 38m 00s |
| 22-Jun-10 | 4:56 AM | 9:34 PM | 16h 37m 57s |
| 23-Jun-10 | 4:56 AM | 9:34 PM | 16h 37m 47s |
| 24-Jun-10 | 4:56 AM | 9:34 PM | 16h 37m 32s |
| 25-Jun-10 | 4:57 AM | 9:34 PM | 16h 37m 11s |
| 26-Jun-10 | 4:57 AM | 9:34 PM | 16h 36m 44s |
| 27-Jun-10 | 4:58 AM | 9:34 PM | 16h 36m 10s |
| 28-Jun-10 | 4:58 AM | 9:34 PM | 16h 35m 31s |
| 29-Jun-10 | 4:59 AM | 9:33 PM | 16h 34m 46s |
| 30-Jun-10 | 4:59 AM | 9:33 PM | 16h 33m 55s |
In contrast, this is the sunrise/sunset table for December, indicating fewer than eight hours of daylight for most of the month:
| 1-Dec-10 | 7:56 AM | 4:07 PM | 8h 11m 47s |
| 2-Dec-10 | 7:57 AM | 4:07 PM | 8h 09m 47s |
| 3-Dec-10 | 7:58 AM | 4:06 PM | 8h 07m 53s |
| 4-Dec-10 | 8:00 AM | 4:06 PM | 8h 06m 04s |
| 5-Dec-10 | 8:01 AM | 4:05 PM | 8h 04m 20s |
| 6-Dec-10 | 8:02 AM | 4:05 PM | 8h 02m 42s |
| 7-Dec-10 | 8:03 AM | 4:05 PM | 8h 01m 09s |
| 8-Dec-10 | 8:05 AM | 4:04 PM | 7h 59m 42s |
| 9-Dec-10 | 8:06 AM | 4:04 PM | 7h 58m 20s |
| 10-Dec-10 | 8:07 AM | 4:04 PM | 7h 57m 05s |
| 11-Dec-10 | 8:08 AM | 4:04 PM | 7h 55m 55s |
| 12-Dec-10 | 8:09 AM | 4:04 PM | 7h 54m 52s |
| 13-Dec-10 | 8:10 AM | 4:04 PM | 7h 53m 54s |
| 14-Dec-10 | 8:11 AM | 4:04 PM | 7h 53m 03s |
| 15-Dec-10 | 8:12 AM | 4:04 PM | 7h 52m 18s |
| 16-Dec-10 | 8:12 AM | 4:04 PM | 7h 51m 39s |
| 17-Dec-10 | 8:13 AM | 4:04 PM | 7h 51m 07s |
| 18-Dec-10 | 8:14 AM | 4:05 PM | 7h 50m 41s |
| 19-Dec-10 | 8:15 AM | 4:05 PM | 7h 50m 22s |
| 20-Dec-10 | 8:15 AM | 4:05 PM | 7h 50m 09s |
| 21-Dec-10 | 8:16 AM | 4:06 PM | 7h 50m 03s |
| 22-Dec-10 | 8:16 AM | 4:06 PM | 7h 50m 03s |
| 23-Dec-10 | 8:17 AM | 4:07 PM | 7h 50m 10s |
| 24-Dec-10 | 8:17 AM | 4:07 PM | 7h 50m 23s |
| 25-Dec-10 | 8:17 AM | 4:08 PM | 7h 50m 43s |
| 26-Dec-10 | 8:18 AM | 4:09 PM | 7h 51m 09s |
| 27-Dec-10 | 8:18 AM | 4:10 PM | 7h 51m 41s |
| 28-Dec-10 | 8:18 AM | 4:10 PM | 7h 52m 20s |
| 29-Dec-10 | 8:18 AM | 4:11 PM | 7h 53m 06s |
| 30-Dec-10 | 8:18 AM | 4:12 PM | 7h 53m 57s |
| 31-Dec-10 | 8:18 AM | 4:13 PM | 7h 54m 55s |
Remember this when you write about winter in Wales!