Daytime is now an hour longer than when winter began

Wednesday marks the day when Ottawa has gained a full hour of daylight since winter began.
At the start of winter we were getting eight hours, 42 minutes of daylight. Wednesday brings nine hours and 43 minutes. And we are gaining more than two and a half minutes a day.
It’s higher in the sky, too, rising 27 degrees above the horizon at noon compared to 21 degrees in December. Overall we are getting as much sunshine at this time of years as we had back on Nov. 10. 
On the first day of