Understanding world time is a bit tricky because many people still don’t know the different time zones in the world. Have you ever gone through a time change when travelling to another country?
It is quite easy to forget time zones when you travel by air over long distances. It might be possible that you know someone who lives a couple of hours ahead of you. It might even be that if it is Monday in the place you live, it is Sunday or Tuesday where that person lives. In a few words, somebody’s tomorrow can be your today and vice versa. It might seem like time-traveling, but the simple reason behind this occurrence is that we live in distinct time zones across the world.
The meaning of a different time zone is that regardless of your location in the world, your noon will fall when the sun is at its highest in the middle of each day, while midnight will fall in the middle of each night. Time zone differences have an interesting effect on the world. In this article, we will share with you a brief overview of how time zones work, their importance, and much more.
Number of Time Zones in the World and How They Work
As we know, the Earth finishes a complete spin each day. This spin equals 360 degrees, and when divided by 24 hours, the result is 15 degrees of hourly rotation. This is also known as the width of every single time zone. That said, according to the International Date Line (IDL), there are three more world time zones. Moreover, there exist many time zones that are only half an hour apart, which increases the number of time zones. Also, there are over 24 time zones since every country also has a standard time zone, making it convenient for international cooperation. For instance, some countries with the fewest time zones are Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka, Seychelles, Norway, Pakistan, India and many more. You can use a time zone converter to find out the different time zones across the world.
According to the IANA database of time zones, there are around 200 different time zones worldwide. The concept of time zones might be a bit tricky initially, but it becomes easy when you understand the workings of standard time.
When the sun is at its highest on the planet at noon, or 12 o’clock, the tradition in many countries says that it is officially lunchtime. The Earth’s spherical shape makes the rays of the sun most intense in the place that is closest to the sun. Moreover, as and when the planet rotates around its axis, other parts of the Earth live in the morning, evening, and afternoon.
Before the initiation of the Industrial Revolution, life was largely dominated by sowing, harvesting, fertilizing, agriculture, and crafts times. Ever since the popularity of the telegraph, as well as the construction of railroads in the 19th and 20th centuries, travel and communication have gained all-new dimensions, as well as problems. Science and technology are rapidly advancing today, which means quicker means of transport. This is probably why people have started to consider how they can control the issue of time.
The Starting Point of Time Zones
Most time zones are exactly apart by an hour, and by convention, their local time is calculated by an offset of GMT or UTC time zone. In addition to that, all clock changes worldwide are automatically displayed and considered in real-time the moment you reload a page. Both computers and mobile phones automatically adjust the time when you travel across time zones. That said, you don’t need to adjust your clock manually.
Importance of Time Zones
As mentioned above, the importance of time zones is that they determine noon worldwide. Thanks to the rotation of the Earth, noon takes place in different places at different times across the world. In order to control the planet’s climate, countries adhere to strict time zones. In other words, maintaining the same time is quite useful for countries and individuals who conduct business with each other, as time zones have a huge set of legal, commercial, and social implications.
Simply put, time zones are essential because individuals in different places around the world experience every hour differently during the day. Moreover, time zones establish and define the appropriate time in regions and individual countries, thus having a massive impact on communication, management, and businesses across the world.
