Kanton, Kiribati · UTC+13
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Kanton (also written Canton) is a small coral atoll in the Phoenix Islands group of Kiribati, in the central Pacific. It runs on UTC+13, one of the furthest-ahead timezone offsets on Earth.
This extreme offset is a political choice. Kanton and the Phoenix Islands were historically on the UTC-12 or UTC-11 side of the International Date Line. In 1995, Kiribati shifted the Phoenix and Line Islands to UTC+13 and UTC+14 to create a single calendar day across the entire country. This allowed business and administrative coordination without the confusion of some islands being a full day ahead of others.
Jumping the date line
The 1995 Kiribati decision was geographically and cartographically significant. UTC+14, used by the Line Islands to the east (including Kiritimati/Christmas Island), is the furthest offset in the world. UTC+13 for Kanton was the secondary adjustment.
Before this change, Kanton was on the eastern (American) side of the date line. After, it moved to the western (Asian/Oceanian) side. The people on the island woke up on one date and found themselves on a different date the following morning.
A largely uninhabited atoll
Kanton has a small population, primarily Kiribati administrative staff and workers. The atoll was used as a stopover point for early trans-Pacific aviation and was contested by the US and UK in the late colonial period.
Convert 9am Kanton time to other cities.
Sources
- IANA Time Zone Database
- Kiribati National Statistics Office
- Kaplan, Robert D. “The Coming Anarchy.” The Atlantic, February 1994.
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Questions about time in Kanton
- What timezone is Kanton in?
- Kanton uses the IANA timezone
Pacific/Kanton. The UTC offset is always UTC+13 - this timezone does not observe daylight saving time. - Does Kanton observe daylight saving time?
- No. Kanton does not observe daylight saving time. The UTC offset remains UTC+13 all year round.
- What is the current UTC offset for Kanton?
- Kanton is currently at UTC+13.
- What is the time difference between Kanton and New York?
- Kanton is currently 17 hours ahead of New York.
- What is the time difference between Kanton and London?
- Kanton is currently 12 hours ahead of London.
- What is the time difference between Kanton and Los Angeles?
- Kanton is currently 20 hours ahead of Los Angeles.
- What is the time difference between Kanton and Tokyo?
- Kanton is currently 4 hours ahead of Tokyo.
- What is the IANA timezone name for Kanton?
- The IANA timezone database identifier for Kanton is
Pacific/Kanton. Use this string in programming languages and APIs: JavaScript (`new Intl.DateTimeFormat('en-US', { timeZone: 'Pacific/Kanton' })`), Python (`pytz.timezone('Pacific/Kanton')`), or any IANA-compatible library.
Frequently Asked Questions
What timezone is Kanton in?
Kanton uses the IANA timezone Pacific/Kanton. The UTC offset is always UTC+13 - this timezone does not observe daylight saving time.
Does Kanton observe daylight saving time?
No. Kanton does not observe daylight saving time. The UTC offset remains UTC+13 all year round.
What is the current UTC offset for Kanton?
Kanton is currently at UTC+13.
What is the time difference between Kanton and New York?
Kanton is currently 17 hours ahead of New York.
What is the time difference between Kanton and London?
Kanton is currently 12 hours ahead of London.