What time does the sun set in Colombo today?

Sunset in Colombo ranges from about 18:00 (6:00 PM) near the December solstice to about 18:28 (6:28 PM) near the June solstice, a swing of under half an hour across the whole year. Pick today's date in the tool above for the exact minute, in Sri Lanka Standard Time (UTC+5:30).

What time is sunrise in Sri Lanka?

Across the island sunrise falls roughly between 05:50 and 06:20 all year. In Colombo it moves from about 05:57 in late June to about 06:17 in late December. Eastern towns such as Batticaloa and Trincomalee see the sun a few minutes earlier than Colombo; western Jaffna a touch later.

How long is the day in Sri Lanka right now?

Day length in Sri Lanka stays close to 12 hours all year, about 12 h 31 m at the June solstice and 11 h 43 m at the December solstice in Colombo. The tool shows the exact figure for your date plus how many seconds longer or shorter the day is than yesterday.

When is golden hour in Colombo for photography?

Evening golden hour, the warm, soft window when the sun is between +6° and −6° altitude, runs for roughly 50 minutes ending at civil dusk. In late December in Colombo it is about 17:29 to 18:22; in June about 17:58 to 18:51. Turn on 'Show twilight & golden hour' for the exact morning and evening windows on your date.

Why doesn't sunrise or sunset time change much across the year in Sri Lanka?

Sri Lanka sits within about 10° of the equator. Day length depends on how far the sun's declination swings from your latitude, and near the equator that effect is small, so the whole island's daylight varies by under an hour between the June and December solstices. At high latitudes the same swing produces differences of many hours.

Does Sri Lanka use daylight saving time?

No. Sri Lanka Standard Time is a fixed UTC+5:30 all year, with no daylight saving or seasonal clock change. Every time this tool reports is already in Sri Lanka Standard Time, so you never need to add or subtract an offset.

What is the difference between civil, nautical and astronomical twilight?

They mark how far the sun is below the horizon. Civil twilight (sun to −6°) is bright enough to work outdoors without lights. Nautical twilight (−12°) is when the horizon is still faintly visible at sea. Astronomical twilight (−18°) is the boundary of true darkness for stargazing. The tool lists dawn and dusk for all three.

How accurate are these sunrise and sunset times?

They are computed with the NOAA solar-position algorithm and are accurate to about a minute for sea-level locations, using the standard −0.833° horizon (refraction plus the sun's radius). Hills, tall buildings or a high vantage point shift the visible sunrise or sunset by a minute or two, which no formula can capture from coordinates alone.

Can I get sunrise and sunset for a place that isn't in the list?

Yes. Turn on 'Use custom coordinates' and enter the latitude and longitude in decimal degrees (positive for North and East). Times are still given in Sri Lanka Standard Time. For places far from the equator the tool also reports the polar-day and polar-night cases correctly.

Sri Lanka · Utility

Sri Lanka Sunrise & Sunset Time Calculator

Find the exact sunrise, sunset, solar noon, day length, twilight and photography golden-hour times for any Sri Lankan city on any date. All in Sri Lanka Standard Time (UTC+5:30), computed with the NOAA solar algorithm, no signup, no ads, no location permission.

By Induwara Ashinsana— Co-Founder, Ryzera TechnologiesUpdated Jul 2, 2026

Sunrise & sunsetAsia/Colombo · any city, any date

NOAA algorithm

Date

City

Quick pick

Use custom coordinates

Show twilight & photography golden hour

ColomboSun south of equator

Sunrise

5:58 AM

05:58

Sunset

6:00 PM

18:00

Solar noon

11:59 AM

11:59

Day length

12 h 02 m

-22 s shorter than yesterday

05:5811:5918:00

Twilight (dawn & dusk)

Twilight	Dawn	Dusk
CivilSun −6°	05:37	18:21
NauticalSun −12°	05:13	18:45
AstronomicalSun −18°	04:49	19:09

Photography windows

Morning golden hour

05:37 – 06:26

5:37 AM – 6:26 AM · 49 min

Evening golden hour

17:32 – 18:21

5:32 PM – 6:21 PM · 49 min

Morning blue hour

05:37 – 05:45

5:37 AM – 5:45 AM · 8 min

Evening blue hour

18:13 – 18:21

6:13 PM – 6:21 PM · 8 min

Times are computed with the NOAA solar algorithm for Sri Lanka Standard Time (UTC+5:30, no daylight saving), and cross-checked against a second independent NOAA implementation on this site. Accurate to about a minute; atmospheric refraction uses the standard −0.833° horizon convention.

How it works

This calculator uses the solar-position method published by the NOAA Global Monitoring Laboratory. It is pure astronomy, the same math NOAA's own online Solar Calculator runs, so every result is deterministic and works offline in your browser. Nothing is sent to a server, and no GPS permission is requested.

The chain of formulas, all in degrees unless noted:

Convert the calendar date to a Julian day, then to Julian centuries since J2000.0: T = (JD − 2451545) / 36525.
Compute the sun's geometric mean longitude and mean anomaly, add the equation of centre to get the true and then apparent solar longitude.
From the obliquity of the ecliptic derive the solar declination δ and the equation of time (EoT), the gap between clock time and true solar time.
Find solar noon in local clock minutes: 720 − 4·lon − EoT + 60·5.5 for Sri Lanka's fixed UTC+5:30.
Solve the hour angle H for the target altitude: cos H = (cos z − sin φ · sin δ) / (cos φ · cos δ), where φ is latitude and z is the zenith, 90.833° for sunrise and sunset (the −0.833° horizon accounts for refraction and the sun's radius), and 96°, 102° and 108° for civil, nautical and astronomical twilight.
Sunrise = solar noon − 4·H and sunset = solar noon + 4·H (minutes). Day length is the difference. Golden hour (sun between +6° and −6°) and blue hour (−6° to −4°) come from the same hour-angle formula at those altitudes.

If |cos H| > 1 the sun never reaches that altitude, so the tool reports a polar day or polar night instead of an invalid time, never relevant inside Sri Lanka, but correct for custom coordinates far from the equator. Because Sri Lanka lies within about 10° of the equator, the declination swing barely changes the hour angle, which is why sunrise and sunset move so little across the year. Every result is cross-checked against a second, independently written NOAA implementation on this site; the two agree to the second.

Worked examples

Colombo, 21 June 2026 (longest day)

Near the June solstice · lat 6.9271° N, lon 79.8612° E

Solar declination δ ≈ +23.44° (June solstice).
Equation of time ≈ −1.77 min → solar noon = 720 − 4×79.8612 + 1.77 + 330 ≈ 12:12.
Hour angle H ≈ 93.83° → 4·H ≈ 375 min ≈ 6 h 15 m either side of noon.
Sunrise ≈ 12:12 − 6:15 = 05:57 · Sunset ≈ 12:12 + 6:16 = 18:28.
Day length = 2 × 6 h 15 m ≈ 12 h 31 m, Colombo's longest day of the year.

Colombo, 21 December 2026 (shortest day)

Near the December solstice

Solar declination δ ≈ −23.44° (December solstice).
Solar noon ≈ 12:09 (equation of time ≈ +2.04 min).
Hour angle H ≈ 87.9° → 4·H ≈ 351 min ≈ 5 h 51 m either side of noon.
Sunrise ≈ 06:17 · Sunset ≈ 18:00 · Day length ≈ 11 h 43 m.
The year's swing is only 12 h 31 m − 11 h 43 m ≈ 48 minutes, the equator effect.

Beach shoot, Colombo, 20 December 2026

Planning an evening golden-hour engagement session

Sunset that evening ≈ 18:00; civil dusk ≈ 18:22.
Evening golden hour (sun +6° down to −6°) ≈ 17:29 → 18:22.
Blue hour (sun −4° to −6°) follows ≈ 18:14 → 18:22 for cool twilight tones.
Have the couple in position by 17:25 so the whole warm window is usable.

Frequently asked questions

Sources & references

Sunrise, sunset and solar-noon values for the worked-example dates were last cross-checked against the NOAA Solar Calculator on 2026-07-02. Sri Lanka Standard Time is a fixed UTC+5:30 with no daylight saving.

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Comments & feedback

Spotted a bug or want an improvement? Tell us, our team reviews every comment, and good ideas get built. Comments are public and anonymous.

Found a bug, edge case, or want another city added?

Email me at [email protected] , most fixes ship within 24 hours.