Golden hour in Almaty in December

Almaty lies at 43.22° N, in the mid-latitudes, where the seasons reshape the light noticeably. Its longest measured day falls on Thu 18 June 2026 with 15h 23m of daylight, and its shortest on Fri 18 December 2026 with 8h 59m — a difference of 6h 24m between the two extremes.

Evening golden hour in Almaty runs for roughly 43 minutes at the height of summer, 38 minutes around the March equinox and 46 minutes at midwinter. The warm window is actually widest in the colder months, which makes winter evenings unusually forgiving here.

The sun sets toward 304° NW in late June and toward 238° WSW in late December, a shift of about 66° in where the last light lands — worth checking before committing to a west-facing viewpoint. In Almaty, the sky reaches full darkness between evening and morning twilight year-round.