Portugal’s days are growing longer as spring arrives

Over the past few days, the change has been easy to notice — the sun has been staying up a little longer every evening. Across Portugal, sunsets have been happening a few minutes later each day, bringing more daylight and beautiful colours over the Atlantic. It has been a small but welcome reminder that spring is here, and that the longer, brighter days of summer are slowly approaching.

On Thursday, 19 March, sunset in Lisbon was around 18:47, while in the Algarve (Faro area) it was slightly earlier, at about 18:43.

The difference between the two regions is small — only a few minutes — but the pattern is the same across the country: every day the sun stays in the sky a little longer.

How the Sunsets Change

Sunset times continue to shift later each evening. Data from the astronomical calculator on timeanddate.com shows sunset times gradually moving later each day in both Lisbon and the Algarve.

Over those five days alone, Portugal gains roughly four to five minutes of extra evening daylight.

But the real change is even bigger when looking at the whole day. Because sunrise also arrives earlier each morning, total daylight increases by about 2 minutes and 30 seconds in Portugal at this time of year.

The Spring Equinox

The lengthening days are linked to the spring equinox, which in 2026 occurs on 20 March. On that day, day and night are nearly equal in length, marking the official start of astronomical spring in the Northern Hemisphere.

After the equinox, daylight will continue to grow steadily until the summer solstice in June, the longest day of the year.

Even Brighter Evenings Ahead

There is another change on the horizon. On 29 March, Portugal will switch to daylight saving time, moving clocks forward by one hour. When that happens, sunsets will suddenly appear around an hour later, creating the longer, brighter evenings many people associate with spring and summer.

For now, however, the transition is gradual — just a minute at a time. But those small daily changes are already transforming the rhythm of the day, from brighter commutes home to longer evenings outdoors.

Spring may only just be arriving, but Portugal’s steadily lengthening days are already pointing toward the long, sunlit evenings of summer.