So, you’re looking for the sunset time today New York. It is January 14, 2026. If you are standing in Times Square or looking out from a Brooklyn rooftop, the sun is going down at exactly 4:52 PM.
That’s the number. But honestly, if you show up at 4:52 PM expecting a show, you’ve already missed the best part.
New York City isn’t just a grid of concrete; it’s a giant sundial. Because of the way the streets are laid out—that famous 28.9-degree tilt off true north—the "official" sunset time doesn’t always line up with when the light actually hits the pavement. Today, the sky starts turning that weird, bruised purple color around 4:22 PM. That’s the start of civil twilight. It’s that thirty-minute window where the sun is technically below the horizon but the atmosphere is still scattering light like a prism.
Why January Sunsets in NYC Hit Different
We are currently dragging ourselves through the tail end of the winter solstice hangover. The days are finally getting longer, but it feels microscopic. On January 1st, the sunset was at 4:39 PM. Today, we’ve clawed back about thirteen minutes of afternoon light. It doesn't sound like much. It feels like a lot when you're leaving the office and it isn't pitch black yet.
The science behind this is basically the Equation of Time. It’s the discrepancy between "apparent solar time" and "mean solar time." Because the Earth’s orbit is an ellipse and not a perfect circle, and because we’re tilted on an axis, the earliest sunset of the year actually happens in early December, even though the shortest day isn’t until the 21st. By mid-January, we’re in the "rapid gain" phase. Every day, the sunset time today New York creeps later by about sixty to ninety seconds.
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You’ve probably noticed the light feels sharper lately. It’s cold. Cold air is denser and usually holds less moisture than the humid soup we breathe in July. This lack of water vapor means fewer particles to muddy up the light. When the sun hits the horizon today, those red and orange wavelengths are going to be incredibly crisp. If there’s high-altitude cirrus cloud cover—the wispy kind that looks like pulled sugar—expect a "fire sky."
The Manhattanhenge Misconception
Everyone talks about Manhattanhenge in May and July. That’s when the sun aligns perfectly with the East-West street grid. But people forget about the "half-sun" alignments in winter. While today isn't a full "Henge" event, the sun is currently positioned quite low in the southern sky.
If you are on 42nd Street or 57th Street around 4:45 PM, you’ll get what photographers call "The Glow." The light bounces off the glass facades of the Hudson Yards skyscrapers and floods the canyons. It’s blinding. It’s also dangerous for drivers. The NYPD actually sees a spike in minor fender benders during the fifteen minutes surrounding the sunset time today New York because the glare hits windshields at the exact angle where sun visors become useless.
Where to Actually Watch It
Don't stay in Midtown. The buildings are too tall; they eat the light.
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- Brooklyn Bridge Park (Pier 1): This is the gold standard. You get the sun setting directly behind the Statue of Liberty and the Financial District. The water acts as a mirror.
- The High Line: Specifically the 10th Avenue Overlook. You’re elevated, so you see the light receding down the cross-streets.
- The Staten Island Ferry: It’s free. It’s windy. But being on the water when the sun hits the horizon at 4:52 PM is the most "New York" experience you can have for zero dollars.
- Gantry Plaza State Park: If you’re in Queens, this is the spot. The Pepsi-Cola sign starts to glow, and the United Nations building turns into a pillar of gold.
There is a technical term for what happens right after the sun disappears: the "Blue Hour." It’s not actually an hour. In New York, it usually lasts about fifteen to twenty minutes. This is when the artificial lights of the city—the Empire State Building’s LED array, the neon of Broadway—match the ambient light of the sky. For a brief window, the shadows disappear. Everything looks like a movie set.
Atmospheric Science and the "Trash Effect"
This sounds gross, but New York sunsets are actually enhanced by pollution and urban dust. It’s a phenomenon called Mie scattering. Larger particles in the lower atmosphere, like the dust kicked up by millions of tires and construction on the 2nd Avenue Subway, scatter the longer wavelengths of light. This is why urban sunsets often look more "burnt orange" or "blood red" compared to the cleaner, paler sunsets you see in the middle of the Atlantic or the Adirondacks. Today’s air quality index is moderate, which means there’s just enough "stuff" in the air to catch the light beautifully without making the sky look hazy.
Tracking the Shift
If you’re planning a photoshoot or a romantic dinner, you have to account for "Topographical Sunset." The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) calculates sunset based on a flat horizon. New York is not flat. If you’re in a basement apartment in Chelsea, your "sunset" happened at 3:15 PM when the building across the street blocked the sun. If you’re at Summit One Vanderbilt, you’ll technically see the sun for about three or four minutes longer than people on the sidewalk.
We are currently gaining daylight at a rate of about two minutes per day (combined morning and evening). By the time we hit Valentine’s Day, the sunset time today New York will be 5:29 PM. That extra forty minutes changes the entire psychology of the city. People stay out longer. Happy hours get busier. The "winter blues" start to lift.
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Actionable Steps for Today
Check the cloud cover. If the sky is 100% overcast, the sunset will be a non-event; it’ll just get dark and gray. But if there’s "broken" cloud cover (around 40-60%), get to a western-facing window by 4:40 PM.
Turn off your flash. If you’re trying to take a photo of the skyline at 4:52 PM, a flash will just reflect off the glass and ruin the exposure. Lock your focus on the brightest part of the sky, then slide the brightness tool down on your phone. This creates a silhouette effect that makes the buildings look sharp and the colors pop.
Walk toward the West Side Highway. There is a specific psychological benefit to seeing the horizon line. In a city where we spend most of our time looking up or down, staring at the furthest possible point—the New Jersey horizon—resets your circadian rhythm. It tells your brain the day is actually ending.
Watch the temperature drop. The second that sun dips at 4:52 PM, the "radiational cooling" kicks in. Expect the temperature to fall by 4 to 6 degrees within thirty minutes. If you’re out for a walk, that’s the moment you’ll want to zip up your coat. The transition from day to night in New York is fast, loud, and incredibly brief. Don't blink.