— -- Residents of Inuvik, Canada, are having midnight barbecues and going fishing and tanning at 3 a.m.
No, they aren't crazy. They're just celebrating and soaking up the 24/7 sunlight shining down on them for 56 consecutive days.
The northwestern Canadian town is part of a small region around the globe north of the Arctic Circle currently experiencing a phenomenon known as "midnight sun," when the sun remains visible at midnight or later local time.
"Our last sunrise was at 2:30 a.m. this past Sunday, and our next sunset won't be until July 20," Inuvik tourism department manager Jackie Challis told ABC News today. "The sun will just be up high in the sky hovering above the horizon for the next few weeks."
And if you're jealous of the round-the-clock sunshine, just note that Inuvik went through a whole month of complete darkness this past winter.
"Last Dec. 6, the sun set and it didn't rise again until the 6th of January," Challis said. "That weekend, we had what we call a sunrise festival -- three days of drum dancing, ice carving, igloos, food tents, fireworks and just people coming together to celebrate the return of the sun."
Challis added that the town also went through an abrupt temperature change recently. Just last week, it was 14 degrees and there was snow on the ground, she said. But today, it was a comfortable 68 degrees, and green leaves could be seen sprouting on trees.
The town's 3,400 residents, some of whose families have lived there for thousands of years, are used to the extreme weather changes, Challis said.
"We just adapt naturally," she said. "In the winter, we sleep in a lot longer, and when the sun's out we like to stay out longer."
Other cities in the Northwestern Territory of Canada are also experiencing "midnight sun," though not 24/7 like Inuvik.
"For those who haven't seen the midnight sun, it's a once-in-a-lifetime kind of thing," Challis said. "There's nothing quite like it."
Sunrise today: 7:00 h
Sunset today: 16:34 h
(Times for Ottawa)
The times for sunrise and sunset in Canada are significantly influenced by the high location in the northern hemisphere. Relatively high in the north, the days are long in summer (June to September) and short in winter (December to
March). With up to about 15:40 hours, there are the longest days in June. The longest dark nights, on the other hand, are in winter. A December night in Ottawa lasts almost 16 hours and the days start about 2 hours later.
During these days, the sun in Ottawa rises at 7:00. The early sunset at 16:34 makes the day currently a bit too short.
Back to overview: Canada
Average length of day in Ottawa
sunshine duration twilight phase
Sunrise and sunset in the most important cities of Canada
Sunrise and sunset by month (Ottawa)
Where does the sun rise in Canada?
The sun always rises in the east, everywhere and regardless of the country or continent. The easternmost city in Canada is St. John's in the region of Newfoundland and Labrador. There, the sun rises at 7:04 am and sets at 4:26 pm these days. The latest sunset is currently experienced in the west in the city of Whitehorse (Yukon) at 17:28.
Duration of the sunset
The distance from the equator and the path of the sun determines not only the time of sunrise and sunset. The farther a country is from the equator, the more oblique the sun's path is to the horizon, causing sunset to last for a different duration. Ottawa lies on the 45th degree of northern latitude and is therefore very far away from the equator. While a sunset near the equator lasts only about 20 minutes, in Canada, this period averages 39 minutes. In June, it's about 43 minutes in Ottawa, while in December it's 35 minutes.