The World’s Strangest Time Zones

The World’s Strangest Time Zones

Nepal is 5 h 45 min ahead of UTC, China uses one time zone for the whole country and Kiribati is first into the new day. A live guide to the world’s most unusual time zones.

−12−10−8−6−4−20+2+4+6+8+10+12+14UTC−11UTC−10UTC−9:30−9:30UTC−9UTC−8UTC−7UTC−6UTC−5UTC−4UTC−3:30−3:30UTC−3UTC−2UTC−1UTC+0UTC+1UTC+2UTC+3UTC+3:30+3:30UTC+4UTC+4:30+4:30UTC+5UTC+5:30+5:30UTC+5:45+5:45UTC+6UTC+6:30+6:30UTC+7UTC+8UTC+8:45+8:45UTC+9UTC+9:30+9:30UTC+10UTC+10:30+10:30UTC+11UTC+12UTC+13UTC+13:45+13:45UTC+14
Whole-hour offsets 30 and 45-minute offsets · 37 different offsets are in use right now

Half-hour and 45-minute time zones

Offset nowWhere
UTC−9:30French Polynesia
UTC−3:30Canada
UTC+3:30Iran
UTC+4:30Afghanistan
UTC+5:30India, Sri Lanka
UTC+5:45Nepal
UTC+6:30Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Myanmar (Burma)
UTC+8:45Australia
UTC+9:30Australia
UTC+10:30Australia
UTC+13:45New Zealand

More time zone oddities

  • Kiribati (Line Islands) is on UTC+14, the first place on Earth to start each new day – 26 hours ahead of UTC−12, the last time zone, which is used only by uninhabited US islands.
  • China spans almost five geographic time zones but uses a single one, Beijing time (UTC+8), so the sun can rise after 9:00 in the far west.
  • India also uses one zone for the whole country, UTC+5:30 – which is why its offset is a half hour.
  • Nepal is on UTC+5:45, 15 minutes ahead of India, and the Chatham Islands (New Zealand) use UTC+12:45.
  • France has more time zones than any other country – 12, thanks to its overseas territories.
  • Lord Howe Island (Australia) moves its clocks by just 30 minutes for daylight saving time.
  • At the Four Corners of the USA, Arizona stays on standard time all year while the Navajo Nation inside it uses daylight saving time.