as close to night

[KLPNO]

Hello everyone
I'd like to ask about the meaning of the phrase "as close to night" in the following sentence.

Through one of those windows, Jopale could see the tall buildings of the city and their long shadows, plus the high clear sky that was as close to night as anything he had ever known.

Does it imply that the sky was very dark?

 

[Anglika]

Without more context, that is what is seems to mean.

However, if this is sci-fi, it could mean that the world on which the action takes place does not have a night in our sense, and that this sky is the nearest that the world has to night.

 

[hongwin]

i think it means the sky to dark, too.