Darkness Overload: The Shortest Day Of The Year Today

Finally, the day we have been looking forward to the most has arrived. Today is the Winter Solstice, which is the shortest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. The sun rises at 11:22 AM in Reykjavík, and it sets at 3:29 PM. The sun rises even later, at 11:38 AM, in Akureyri because of its higher latitude.

The full daylight only lasts four hours and seven minutes in Reykjavík, while complete darkness starts from 4:49 PM until 10:04 AM tomorrow. More than 17 hours of darkness may be a lot to handle, but just bear in mind that the daylight will gradually increase from tomorrow onwards.

If you’re looking for something to do during the darkness, you can visit the the Imagine Peace Tower, Yoko Ono’s art project on Viðey Island. The tower will be lit one hour after sunset, at around 4:29 PM. Viðey Island is also only a short ferry ride away from Reykjavík.

It’s also a great time to blast some Icelandic rock tunes to celebrate the darkness. Here’s “Í Huldusal” by Icelandic rock band Kontinuum.