Energy
Soaking up the Sun: Visualizing the Changing Patterns of Daylight in One Year
The darkest days are upon the residents of the Northern Hemisphere as daylight dwindles and the night lingers longer. Meanwhile, those in the Southern Hemisphere bask in their warmest and longest days—and those at the Equator continue to observe consistent days and nights.
These changing lengths of days and nights depend on where you are on Earth and the time of year. The tilt of the Earth’s axis and its path around the sun affect the number of daylight hours.
Today’s post highlights two simple and elegant animations that help demonstrate how different latitudes experience the sun’s light over the course of one year. The first comes from Reddit user harplass, while the second comes from data scientist Neil Kaye.
Longer and Shorter Days
The Ancient Greeks envisioned the movement of the sun as a Titan named Helios who rode across the sky in a horse-drawn chariot, illuminating the known world below. A rosy-fingered dawn would herald his imminent arrival, while the arrival of the dusk god Astraeus, ever on Helios’ heels, marked the passage of day into night.
Today, time is not at the whims of Greek mythology but by the measurable and consistent movement of celestial bodies. A day on Earth is 24 hours long, but not every day has 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of night. The actual time of one Earth rotation is a little shorter–about 23 hours and 56 minutes.
Daytime is shorter in winter than in summer, for each hemisphere. This is because the Earth’s imaginary axis isn’t straight up and down, it is tilted 23.5 degrees. The Earth’s movement around this axis causes the change between day and night.
During summer in the Northern Hemisphere, daylight hours increase the farther north you go. The Arctic gets very little darkness at night. The seasonal changes in daylight hours are small near the Equator and more extreme close to the poles.
Length of a Rotation: Equinoxes and Solstices
There are four events that mark the passing stages of the sun, equinoxes and solstices.
The two solstices happen June 20 or 21 and December 21 or 22. These are the days when the sun’s path in the sky is the farthest north or south from the Equator. A hemisphere’s winter solstice is the shortest day of the year and the summer solstice the year’s longest.
In the Northern Hemisphere the June solstice marks the start of summer: this is when the North Pole is tilted closest to the sun, and the sun’s rays are directly overhead at the Tropic of Cancer.
The December solstice marks the start of winter when the South Pole is tilted closest to the sun, and the sun’s rays are directly overhead the Tropic of Capricorn.
The equinoxes happen around March 21 and September 23. These are the days when the sun is exactly above the Equator, which makes day and night of equal length.
Stand in the Place Where You Are
It is always darkest before the dawn, and every passing of solstice marks a time of change. As the Northern Hemisphere heads into the winter holiday season, it also marks the advent of longer days and the inevitable spring and summer.
The lengths of days and nights are constantly changing, but every one will get their time in the sun, at some point.
Energy
Visualizing the Top Energy Priorities of Major Countries
This infographic lists the top energy priorities in 28 countries, based on an Ipsos survey involving 24,000 people.

Visualizing the Top Energy Priorities of Major Countries
As policy makers, business leaders, and academics gather at COP28 in Dubai this week, topics like climate change and the energy transition will be front and center.
Discussions and policy commitments on these issues are crucial. However, navigating the complexity of aligning policies for the future of energy can be challenging, given the multitude of sometimes conflicting priorities among nations.
Today’s visualization uses data from Ipsos, which details how 24,000 people in 28 countries feel about the top energy issues in their country.
Top Issue: Energy Security
The invasion of Ukraine by Russia has propelled energy security to the forefront of concerns for many countries, particularly in Europe.
Directly impacted nations, including Germany, have had to reactivate coal production and extend the operational lives of nuclear power plants to ensure adequate heating during winter.
According to the Ipsos survey, achieving energy self-sufficiency, thereby reducing dependence on external sources, is the top energy priority for numerous countries, including the U.S., Canada, Italy, and France.
Country / Top Priority | Energy Security | Affordability | Cleaner Energy | Other |
---|---|---|---|---|
🇿🇦 South Africa | 44% | 33% | 33% | 21% |
🇳🇴 Norway | 42% | 28% | 25% | 20% |
🇸🇪 Sweden | 41% | 27% | 21% | 23% |
🇵🇱 Poland | 36% | 35% | 31% | 24% |
🇮🇹 Italy | 36% | 32% | 31% | 20% |
🇭🇺 Hungary | 35% | 30% | 30% | 26% |
🇹🇷 Turkey | 35% | 28% | 33% | 23% |
🇫🇷 France | 34% | 33% | 23% | 18% |
🇺🇸 U.S. | 33% | 25% | 26% | 18% |
🇲🇾 Malaysia | 32% | 17% | 25% | 21% |
🇨🇦 Canada | 31% | 28% | 22% | 19% |
🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia | 25% | 21% | 22% | 16% |
The survey reveals that even countries self-reliant on energy consider energy security the top priority.
Norway, for example, gets 96% of its energy by exploiting its offshore oil and gas fields and using hydroelectric power. The country even has a surplus of power, which it exports to other countries, such as the UK. Despite this, self-sufficiency remains a top priority in the minds of Norwegians.
Top Issue: Cleaner Energy
Following energy security, the second most critical priority is the development of cleaner energy sources like wind, solar, and hydrogen.
Country / Top Priority | Energy Security | Affordability | Cleaner Energy | Other |
---|---|---|---|---|
🇯🇵 Japan | 21% | 17% | 40% | 26% |
🇦🇷 Argentina | 33% | 23% | 38% | 30% |
🇳🇿 New Zealand | 34% | 33% | 36% | 21% |
🇨🇱 Chile | 30% | 25% | 35% | 24% |
🇨🇴 Colombia | 24% | 26% | 33% | 28% |
🇵🇪 Peru | 22% | 22% | 31% | 25% |
🇲🇽 Mexico | 29% | 23% | 31% | 20% |
This concern is the top pick in Japan and a high concern for other Asian economies such as South Korea and China. Today, the region accounts for 52% of global carbon dioxide emissions.
Besides the environmental impact, clean energy development can have an economic impact. Recent studies have shown that doubling the share of renewables in the global energy mix could increase global GDP by up to 1.1% or $1.3 trillion.
Top Issue: Affordability of Energy
Reducing the cost of energy for consumers is the third most frequently mentioned concern. This is particularly emphasized in Belgium, Great Britain, and Germany, where prices are about double that of neighbors like France and Greece.
Country / Top Priority | Energy Security | Affordability | Cleaner Energy | Other |
---|---|---|---|---|
🇧🇪 Belgium | 33% | 43% | 17% | 21% |
🇬🇧 Great Britain | 38% | 41% | 25% | 24% |
🇦🇺 Australia | 31% | 37% | 23% | 18% |
🇩🇪 Germany | 28% | 34% | 23% | 15% |
🇳🇱 Netherlands | 30% | 33% | 20% | 23% |
🇪🇸 Spain | 27% | 32% | 26% | 20% |
For perspective, energy prices in many European countries are more than twice or three times the global average.
Less frequently mentioned energy priorities include:
- Building more energy infrastructure.
- Charging energy consumers more taxes for excessive use.
- Ensuring Indigenous peoples benefit from major energy projects.
Reducing deforestation emerged as the top priority in Brazil, home to 60% of the Amazon rainforest. Recent data indicates that almost 20% of the forest has been destroyed since the 1970s.
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