Golden hour in Riga, Latvia today

Evening golden hour in Riga, Latvia runs 19:46 – 21:04 today, Tuesday 25 August — that is 1h 17m of usable low light before blue hour takes over.

This evening

Golden hour: 19:46 – 21:04
Duration: 1h 17m
Sunset: 20:38
Blue hour: 21:04 – 21:20
Sunset direction: 291° (WNW)

the sun has already set today

This morning

Golden hour: 05:45 – 07:03
Duration: 1h 17m
Sunrise: 06:11
Blue hour: 05:28 – 05:45
Sunrise direction: 69° (ENE)

The next seven days

Evening golden hour, blue hour and sunset for the coming week in Riga.
Date	Golden hour starts	Golden hour ends	Duration	Blue hour	Sunset	Sunset direction
Tue 25 Aug	19:46	21:04	1h 17m	21:04 – 21:20	20:38	291° WNW
Wed 26 Aug	19:44	21:01	1h 17m	21:01 – 21:17	20:36	290° WNW
Thu 27 Aug	19:41	20:58	1h 16m	20:58 – 21:15	20:33	290° WNW
Fri 28 Aug	19:39	20:55	1h 16m	20:55 – 21:12	20:31	289° WNW
Sat 29 Aug	19:36	20:53	1h 16m	20:53 – 21:09	20:28	288° WNW
Sun 30 Aug	19:34	20:50	1h 16m	20:50 – 21:06	20:25	288° WNW
Mon 31 Aug	19:31	20:47	1h 15m	20:47 – 21:03	20:23	287° WNW

Golden hour in August 2026

Evening golden hour start, end and duration for every day of August 2026.
Date	Starts	Ends	Duration	Sunset
Sat 1	20:38	22:06	1h 27m	21:36
Sun 2	20:36	22:03	1h 27m	21:34
Mon 3	20:34	22:01	1h 26m	21:31
Tue 4	20:32	21:58	1h 26m	21:29
Wed 5	20:30	21:56	1h 25m	21:27
Thu 6	20:28	21:53	1h 25m	21:25
Fri 7	20:27	21:51	1h 24m	21:23
Sat 8	20:25	21:49	1h 24m	21:20
Sun 9	20:22	21:46	1h 23m	21:18
Mon 10	20:20	21:43	1h 23m	21:16
Tue 11	20:18	21:41	1h 22m	21:13
Wed 12	20:16	21:38	1h 22m	21:11
Thu 13	20:14	21:36	1h 21m	21:09
Fri 14	20:12	21:33	1h 21m	21:06
Sat 15	20:10	21:31	1h 20m	21:04
Sun 16	20:07	21:28	1h 20m	21:01
Mon 17	20:05	21:25	1h 20m	20:59
Tue 18	20:03	21:23	1h 19m	20:56
Wed 19	20:01	21:20	1h 19m	20:54
Thu 20	19:58	21:17	1h 18m	20:51
Fri 21	19:56	21:15	1h 18m	20:49
Sat 22	19:54	21:12	1h 18m	20:46
Sun 23	19:51	21:09	1h 17m	20:44
Mon 24	19:49	21:06	1h 17m	20:41
Tue 25	19:46	21:04	1h 17m	20:38
Wed 26	19:44	21:01	1h 17m	20:36
Thu 27	19:41	20:58	1h 16m	20:33
Fri 28	19:39	20:55	1h 16m	20:31
Sat 29	19:36	20:53	1h 16m	20:28
Sun 30	19:34	20:50	1h 16m	20:25
Mon 31	19:31	20:47	1h 15m	20:23

How much golden light each month gives you

Total evening golden-hour minutes available in each month. December is the strongest, at about 59 hours across the month; the year ranges by 35%.

What the numbers mean for Riga

Through August the evening window averages about 81 minutes a day here.

December is the most generous month at roughly 114 minutes an evening, and September the tightest at about 74 minutes — a difference of 1.5×. That gap is geometry, not weather: the shallower the sun meets the horizon, the longer it spends crossing the golden band.

A month from now the evening window will be about 4 minutes shorter than tonight, and it will start at 18:27.

The light comes from west-northwest tonight, at 291° on the compass. Check that against your viewpoint before committing to it — the bearing moves through the year, as the table above shows.

What counts as golden hour

Golden hour is defined here by the sun’s altitude, not by a fixed number of minutes. It runs while the sun sits between +6° and −4° relative to the horizon: high enough to still light the scene, low enough that the light has travelled through a long path of atmosphere and lost its blue.

Below −4° the direct light is gone and blue hour takes over, running to −6° where civil twilight ends. Because the definition is angular, the length of golden hour depends on how steeply the sun meets the horizon — which is a function of latitude and season, not of the clock. That is why it lasts 1h 17m here today and about 41 minutes at the equator.

Full definitions of every term used here — golden hour, blue hour, altitude, azimuth — are in the glossary.

Full sunrise and sunset times for Riga Twilight, solar noon, moon phases, the monthly calendar and the year in one chart.