Not that the Chicago area needed any additional sunlight thanks to Wednesday’s scorching temperatures, but the day marked a key milestone in the march toward summer.
According to the United States Naval Observatory, whose atomic clocks keep official time for the United States, Wednesday marked the first time in 2022 that the city of Chicago will observe a sunset after 8 p.m.
That marks a significant step forward from the beginning of the year, when the sun was setting at 5:31 p.m. on Jan. 1.
In all, the city of Chicago got to experience more than 14 hours of daylight on Wednesday, giving residents plenty of chances to enjoy some sunshine in the late afternoon and evening hours.
Fans of later sunsets will still get to enjoy longer days for several weeks. In fact, the latest sunset of the year is set to occur in late June, with the sun going down at 8:30 p.m. in the city.
The earliest sunrise of the year will also occur in the month of June, with a stretch of 10 days featuring sunsets around 5:15 a.m. beginning on June 10 and concluding on June 19.
On the summer solstice, the Chicago area will get to see approximately 15 hours and 14 minutes of sunlight, marking the longest day of the year.
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After the summer solstice, sunrises will begin to occur later, but sunsets will not start to occur earlier until July 2.
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