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Original poster

Greenwich mean time & NYE, can someone please explain?

33 replies

TulipDaisy · 31/12/2018 20:05

I know I'm a bit of a thickie but can someone please explain how it is that I've just read in the news that Hong Kong and Australia have already had their NYE when the Greenwich meridian is in the UK? I thought because we have the zero line, we'd be the first to go into 2019. Why is this not the case - who gets to go first & why? Also, who goes last?

OP posts:

SoyDora · 31/12/2018 20:07

Is this the first time you’ve realised that Australia etc are ahead of us, time zone wise?

ScreamingValenta · 31/12/2018 20:08

We are in the middle! Meridian means middle. Everyone else measures their time as plus or minus GMT. I'm not sure who is first and who is last.

SoyDora · 31/12/2018 20:09

American Samoa is last I believe.

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NannyR · 31/12/2018 20:10

My statistics knowledge is a bit shaky but I think that "mean" as in Greenwich mean time, means directly in the middle, so we are zero, there are 12 hours in front and 12 hours after. The countries to the left of the international date line - Pacific islands and New Zealand are first to celebrate, west coasts of USA and south America are last.

SoyDora · 31/12/2018 20:11

Kiribati is first.

lottiegarbanzo · 31/12/2018 20:12

The International Date Line is opposite Grenwich, in the Pacific, where it's impact is limited. that is where the day starts and ends, while it is 12 noon at Greenwich.

Original poster

TulipDaisy · 31/12/2018 20:12

I've never travelled & never given time zones a 2nd thought, so no, I had no idea Aus' was ahead

OP posts:

Violetroselily · 31/12/2018 20:12

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Date_Line/

brizzledrizzle · 31/12/2018 20:13

The country nearest to the international dateline - Kiribati as the PP said - goes first, then it works it way back to Europe and then across the Atlantic.

Violetroselily · 31/12/2018 20:14

So did you think every other time zone was after GMT?

Original poster

TulipDaisy · 31/12/2018 20:14

Oooh this is exciting... so this '0' line must go right around the earth in a circle then.. I'm still a bit lost as to who goes first & why though...

OP posts:

JaiNotJay · 31/12/2018 20:14

If you fly from New Zealand to South America, you are travelling back in time and will land before you took off. Honest.

Original poster

TulipDaisy · 31/12/2018 20:15

I guess I did Violet I never gave it a moments thought...

OP posts:

Original poster

TulipDaisy · 31/12/2018 20:16

My schooling was heavily disrupted as a child so there's loads I'm only learning now as an adult.

OP posts:

NigelGresley · 31/12/2018 20:16

Come on OP this is primary school stuff!

NigelGresley · 31/12/2018 20:17

Ok apologies

brizzledrizzle · 31/12/2018 20:19

Look at the picture of this date line - the countries closest on the left hand side get the dawn of a new day first and the ones closest on the right get it last.
Its not straight because it doesnt go through small territories and island groups.