An empire on which the sun never sets. This country has 13 time zones
Although in Poland we switch from summer to winter time, we have one time zone. This country is located in Europe, but it has as many as 13 of them. How is it possible?
Time is a philosophical concept that allows us to organize our lives, everyday lives and our plans. This weekend we are changing from summer to winter time, which is irritating for many people and also affects, among others, on the train timetable. You can only console yourself with the fact that there is one time zone in Poland.
In total, there are 24 time zones in the world, each 15° wide. Some do not run regularly so as not to divide individual countries into several zones. However, there is a country in Europe that has as many as 13 of them.
A country that has half the world’s time zones
It’s about France. Of course, we then take into account not only the French territories in Europe, including Corsica (the metropolitan part), but also its overseas territories. So you can look at it as an empire on which the sun never sets.
How different are the time zones in France and its territories? For example, when it is 1:05 p.m. on October 25 in Paris, the day is just starting in French Guiana (8:05 a.m.). The difference can be even more impressive. In the overseas community of Wallis and Futuna we add 12 hours to UTC. At this time most of the inhabitants on those islands are asleep (it is 11:05 p.m.).
Holidays in Martinique start earlier
If the French want to relax on Martinique, a beautiful island in the Caribbean Sea, their holiday days will also start earlier, compared to the days of their friends who stayed at work in Paris. Clocks in this overseas department show the time 6 hours earlier than in the city of lights.
Right behind France in terms of the number of time zones is Russia. The country stretches over two continents, which means that clocks show as many as 11 different times. When it is morning in one part of the region, Russians are already asleep in another. The situation is similar in the USA, which has 10 zones.
The concept of time in different parts of the world allows us to organize a global standard – Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), from which we subtract and add hours in other places. It is based on precise measurements of atomic time.
