Sunshine is one of the clearest ways to compare the feel of a city's climate. This ranking estimates annual sunshine for the 20 sunniest of our flagship cities from monthly climate averages for 2015–2024. Each city links to its full climate guide, with month-by-month information on temperature, rainfall, sunshine, wind, and snow.
| # | City | Annual sunshine (hours) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cairo Egypt | 4,073 hours |
| 2 | Dubai UAE | 3,958 hours |
| 3 | Cancún Mexico | 3,921 hours |
| 4 | Johannesburg South Africa | 3,920 hours |
| 5 | Mexico City Mexico | 3,896 hours |
| 6 | Cape Town South Africa | 3,888 hours |
| 7 | Los Angeles United States | 3,841 hours |
| 8 | Athens Greece | 3,821 hours |
| 9 | San Francisco United States | 3,788 hours |
| 10 | Lisbon Portugal | 3,772 hours |
| 11 | Miami United States | 3,748 hours |
| 12 | Madrid Spain | 3,690 hours |
| 13 | Delhi India | 3,676 hours |
| 14 | Rome Italy | 3,675 hours |
| 15 | Nairobi Kenya | 3,647 hours |
| 16 | Sydney Australia | 3,609 hours |
| 17 | Jakarta Indonesia | 3,587 hours |
| 18 | Singapore Singapore | 3,537 hours |
| 19 | Buenos Aires Argentina | 3,528 hours |
| 20 | Rio de Janeiro Brazil | 3,527 hours |
How we ranked the cities
We multiplied each month's average daily sunshine hours by the number of days in that month, then added the twelve monthly totals. The averages are based on 2015–2024, the same ten-year historical climate summaries used in our city climate guides. Annual totals are rounded to the nearest hour, so treat close rankings as broadly comparable rather than precise forecasts.
Sunshine duration describes the average climate, not the weather on a particular day. Seasonal cloud cover, latitude, and local geography shape the total. Explore a city's full climate guide for its monthly sunshine pattern and other climate details.