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Overhead Sun

Top 50 Cities with Shortest Shadows

Cities ranked by how close the sun gets to directly overhead at noon on summer solstice. The lower the shadow multiplier, the more vertical the sun - with tropical cities experiencing near-zero shadows when the sun passes through zenith.

#1 São Paulo
Shortest shadows at noon
Nearly zero
Shortest shadow multiplier
89.9°
Highest sun altitude
44%
Within tropics

Understanding Shadow Multipliers

The shadow multiplier represents the ratio of shadow length to object height at solar noon. A multiplier of 0.1 means a 10-meter tall object casts only a 1-meter shadow. Cities between the Tropics of Cancer (23.5°N) and Capricorn (23.5°S) can experience the sun passing directly overhead, creating nearly zero shadows. This is why tropical cities dominate this ranking.

Complete Rankings

Sorted by shadow multiplier (shortest to longest)

1

São Paulo

Brazil

Nearly zero
2

Dhaka

Bangladesh

Nearly zero
3

Shantou

China

Nearly zero
4

Jieyang

China

Nearly zero
5

Bhopal

India

Nearly zero
6

Chaozhou

China

Nearly zero
7

Qingyuan

China

Nearly zero
8

Guarulhos

Brazil

Nearly zero
9

Ranchi

India

Nearly zero
10

Jabalpur

India

Nearly zero
11

Comilla

Bangladesh

Nearly zero
12

Puning

China

Nearly zero
13

Muscat

Oman

Nearly zero
14

Wuzhou

China

Nearly zero
15

São Bernardo do Campo

Brazil

Nearly zero
16

São José dos Campos

Brazil

Nearly zero
17

Osasco

Brazil

Nearly zero
18

Sorocaba

Brazil

Nearly zero
19

Santo André

Brazil

Nearly zero
20

Mengzi

China

Nearly zero
21

Londrina

Brazil

Nearly zero
22

Bokāro

India

Nearly zero
23

Durgapur

India

Nearly zero
24

Ujjain

India

Nearly zero
25

Āsansol

India

Nearly zero
26

Mauá

Brazil

Nearly zero
27

Seeb

Oman

Nearly zero
28

Wenshan City

China

Nearly zero
29

Jundiaí

Brazil

Nearly zero
30

Antofagasta

Chile

Nearly zero
31

Diadema

Brazil

Nearly zero
32

Carapicuíba

Brazil

Nearly zero
33

Bawshar

Oman

Nearly zero
34

Mazatlán

Mexico

Nearly zero
35

Itaquaquecetuba

Brazil

Nearly zero
36

Kalemyo

Myanmar

Nearly zero
37

Mogi das Cruzes

Brazil

Nearly zero
38

Barueri

Brazil

Nearly zero
39

Maringá

Brazil

Nearly zero
40

Jardim Angela

Brazil

Nearly zero
41

Suzano

Brazil

Nearly zero
42

Barddhamān

India

Nearly zero
43

Gandhinagar

India

Nearly zero
44

Taboão da Serra

Brazil

Nearly zero
45

Capao Redondo

Brazil

Nearly zero
46

Sapopemba

Brazil

Nearly zero
47

Ratlām

India

Nearly zero
48

Chiayi City

Taiwan

Nearly zero
49

Sacomã

Brazil

Nearly zero
50

Jardim Sao Luis

Brazil

Nearly zero

Shadow Multiplier Explained

0.1x

Tropical Noon

Sun nearly overhead. 10m building casts 1m shadow.

0.5x

Mid-Latitude Summer

Sun at 63°. 10m building casts 5m shadow.

1.5x

High Latitude

Sun at 34°. 10m building casts 15m shadow.

Sunniest Cities

Cities ranked by the number of clear, sunny days per year.

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Longest Summer Days

Cities with the most daylight hours at summer solstice.

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