Pour one out for those bright summer nights.
Sunsets in the New York City area this year will no longer fall after 7 p.m. starting this week, according to the National Weather Service. Central Park will have its last post-7 p.m. sunset on Wednesday, with parts of Long Island and Connecticut seeing their last such sunsets on Monday or Tuesday and other areas in the region seeing theirs later in the week.
“It doesn’t make me feel great,” said Kew Gardens resident CJ Lee, a mental health professional who lamented not being able to enjoy the outdoors in sunlight later into the evening after work. “It’s also something that my patients frequently come to me with as well. So we’re commiserating about how we should all be hibernating, but we’re not.”
“no! noo!!!!,” X user Sky Marchini posted in response to NWS’ announcement.
Bryan Ramsey, a meteorologist with the weather service, said the sun will both be setting earlier and rising later during the fall. That means the days will get progressively shorter until the winter solstice in late December, which marks the day with the shortest day and longest night.
“You’re gonna start seeing cooler weather just because you’re seeing less sunshine as we go into winter,” he said. “You’re also gonna be seeing less sun overall outside, especially as you get farther north.”
Ridgewood resident Jason McGuire said the earlier sunsets are “bittersweet” because he’s looking forward to cooler weather but will have shorter windows for walking his small dog, Eddie, later in the day.
“He doesn’t go out in the dark anymore,” McGuire said. “I think all the fireworks in this neighborhood have really soured him on the night walks, so I try to get him out during daylight hours.”