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Tuesday, 8 February 2011

Reasons to be cheerful

It's still a dark and gloomy time of year. Yet there are flashes of optimism here and there, those early, early intimations of spring that bring hope that our spot here on the northern hemisphere. It will be getting brighter and warmer soon. The morning saw some sunshine, birdsong could be heard, the temperature hit +8C.

And the day is getting decidedly, noticeably longer. Each day is more than three and half minutes longer than the one before. This will accelerate towards Equinox, which falls this year on 20 March. Around the spring equinox, day length increases by over four minutes a day.

Above: W-wa Powiśle station, just after 5pm. Still traces of light in a late-dusk sky. Although we've only gained 40 minutes of daylight in the morning (sunrise now is just after 7am), there's an extra hour and ten minutes of daylight in the evening. In two weeks time it will still be broad daylight at 5pm.

But before spring finally explodes into life, there will be more snow, sleet, frost, day after day of endless dark cloud, and we'll still be waking up to darkness. Let us be of good cheer.

And some more good news today: Warsaw enjoyed 2,200 hours of sunlight in 2010, I read in Gazeta Wyborcza's local section Gazeta Stołeczna.
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6 comments:

  1. Paddy9 February 2011 at 10:05

    Agreed, it may not be Spring proper but, boy, does it feel good to have some more light. I realised there were places I regularly travel to in the late afternoon that I had never seen in daylight.

    Paddy

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  2. basia9 February 2011 at 17:56

    +8 huh?
    Yesterday morning it was -32 (with wind chill) and this morning it was -23 (with windchill).
    Both days were brillaintly sunny.
    :)

    Days are certainly getting longer:
    starting to get dark about 5:45. Nice to leave the office in the daylight.

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  3. student SGH9 February 2011 at 20:43

    W-wa Powiśle station, just after 5pm

    So maybe you take the 17:33 Góra Kalwaria-bound service from W-wa Powiśle?

    The lovely pre-spring episode is drawing to a close. Just heard on TV scaremongering - next week day-time highs might be between -10C and -5C. I stay cheerful though, and grateful for this wonderful dose of warmth we have enjoyed. And winter won't stay long.

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  4. Michael Dembinski9 February 2011 at 21:48

    @ Paddy - yes - I know the feeling. Getting familiar with a building in the dark (regularly arriving there, say, after 16:00 in mid-winter)and then seeing it in broad daylight for the first time in mid-Feb.

    @ Basia - Canada has a wonderful climate. Give me blue skies, sharp frosts and fresh snow anytime for a perfect winter.

    @ Bartek - 17:03 Radom service, actually - I've been waking up early these last few months and making earlier starts, so earlier finishes. More time for creativity at home:)

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  5. basia10 February 2011 at 01:53

    "sharp frosts"??

    ummm, we're talking brass balls/monkey weather moj drogi
    :)

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  6. student SGH10 February 2011 at 19:02

    Good resolution. After my shakedown period I'll also try to knock on and off earlier. Will be hardly feasible, as leaving my office earlier without giving a profound reason means being scowled at by fellow colleauges...

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