DAYLIGHT IN TENERIFE

Daylight in Tenerife begins with the natural phenomenon we all learned in elementary school: the sun rises in the east and sets in the west.

Sunrise is the moment when the first part of the sun appears above the eastern horizon, and similarly, sunset is when the last visible part of the sun disappears below the western horizon.

But also, the speed at which day and night announce themselves is remarkably faster than in the UK. In Tenerife, there is over two and a half hours less daylight in summer than in the UK. On the other hand, in winter, Tenerife enjoys over two hours more daylight compared to the same period in the United Kingdom. Sunrises en sunsets in Tenerife.

Angle of the Sun’s Rays

Sunlight is responsible for daylight. It is the visible part of the entire spectrum of electromagnetic radiation emitted by the sun.

Several factors determine the number of daylight hours at a particular location on Earth, and each of these factors has underlying criteria that affect the number of daylight hours. It’s not too hard to understand, though a little knowledge of geography certainly helps.

For example, the geographical location determines the number of daylight hours. Keep in mind that while sunlight is responsible for daylight, to avoid confusion, these two elements should not be used interchangeably.
The latitude of a location on the globe determines the speed of sunrise and sunset, and the time between the two. The latitude indicates the precise north-south position of a place.

Latitude and Temperature

At the equator, day and night are always approximately equal in length (12 hours). The difference between the length of night and day increases as you move further from the equator toward the poles. The closer you are to the equator, the steeper the sun rises and sets, meaning day arrives faster and night falls quicker. The closer you get to the poles, the smaller the angle of sunrise and sunset, making the transition to darkness longer. In summer, above the Arctic Circle, the sun can descend at such a shallow angle that it never sets and seems to circle the sky.

Sun’s Position

The sun moves from a low winter position to a high summer position. On June 21, the sun reaches the so-called summer solstice, the day it achieves its highest position above the horizon, almost directly overhead.
Around this time, just after 2 PM local time, the sun is at its peak in the south, standing about 85° high! This is nearly directly overhead. In the Benelux, the sun in the height of summer reaches no higher than 63°, comparable to the sun’s position in Tenerife during early spring or autumn. Even around Christmas and New Year’s, the sun in the Canary Islands is high enough to cause sunburn.

A higher sun position also means the sun delivers more concentrated radiation per square meter. This can be compared to a flashlight: when held directly overhead, it produces a bright circular light, but at an angle, the light spreads out, becoming weaker and more oval.
More concentrated radiation is something we quickly notice if we stay too long in the sun. We, as West Europeans, are not used to such intense radiation and can easily get sunburned on our first day if we are careless. A high sun position also casts little or no shadow. You will need to hide entirely under an umbrella or a (palm) tree to get even a little shade.

Brightly Colored Sunsets

The topic of this article owes an explanation as to why the much-desired sunsets in Tenerife often turn shades of orange to red.
The sky is often colored red or orange when the sun is low or setting, due to the Rayleigh effect, where particles smaller than the wavelength of light scatter the light.

When the sun is high in the sky, blue light is scattered in the atmosphere, which is why we see the sky as blue during the day. However, when the sun is low, red light is scattered, coloring the sky around the sun red. This effect is even more noticeable at sunset because the air contains more dust at the end of the day, intensifying the scattering.

Light Scattering

The orange and red hues of a sunset can be enhanced by air pollution, soot, and smoke from wildfires or volcanic eruptions.
Scattering can have other effects as well. When something in the lower atmosphere, like a hill or a cloud, blocks part of the sunlight, the rest of the light can appear as rays. These so-called crepuscular rays are enhanced by the scattering of light between the object and the observer. The rays seem to fan out, but this is an optical illusion, just as railroad tracks seem to converge at a point on the horizon.

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Daylight in Tenerife ©