The Pacific Island nations of Tonga, Samoa and Kiribati were the first to see in the new year — when it was still 5 a.m. on December 31 on the East Coast of the United States and 11 a.m. UTC (Coordinated Universal Time, the global standard). New Zealand was next, an hour later.
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American Samoa, just 101 miles from Samoa but in an entirely different timezone, must wait a full day before seeing in 2020.
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There are 39 different local times in use — including two which are more than 12 hours ahead of UTC — which means it takes 26 hours for the entire world to enter the New Year.
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So, if you really, really, really love to hum “Auld Lang Syne,” the list below will get you in the spirit — over and over and over again.
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Here’s when the world has been and will be ringing in the New Year, relative to East Coast time.
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Tuesday, December 31, 2019
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5 a.m. ET Samoa, Tonga and Christmas Island/Kiribati
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5:15 a.m. Chatham Islands/New Zealand
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6 a.m. New Zealand (with a few exceptions) and five more locations/islands
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7 a.m. Small region of Russia and seven more locations
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8 a.m. Much of Australia and seven more (including Melbourne and Sydney)
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8:30 a.m. Small region of Australia (including Adelaide)
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9 a.m. Queensland/Australia and six more (including Brisbane)
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9:30 a.m. Northern Territory/Australia (including Alice Springs)
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10 a.m. Japan, South Korea and four more
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10:15 a.m. Western Australia/Australia
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11 a.m. China, Philippines and 10 more
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Noon Much of Indonesia, Thailand and seven more
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12:30 p.m. Myanmar and Cocos Islands
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1 p.m. Bangladesh and six more
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1:15 p.m. Nepal
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1:30 p.m. India and Sri Lanka
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Indian school children in Ahmadabad hold large 2020 numbers as part of a New Year’s celebration.
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2 p.m. Pakistan and eight more
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2:30 p.m. Afghanistan
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3 p.m. Azerbaijan and eight more
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3:30 p.m. Iran
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4 p.m. Moscow/Russia and 22 more
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5 p.m. Greece and 31 more (including Egypt, South Africa and Romania)
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6 p.m. Germany and 45 more (including Algeria, Italy, Belgium and France)
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7 p.m. United Kingdom and 24 more (including Portugal and Iceland)
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8 p.m. Cabo Verde and two more
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9 p.m. Regions of Brazil and South Georgia/Sandwich Islands
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10 p.m. Most of Brazil, Angetina and nine more
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10:30 p.m. Newfoundland and Labrador/Canada
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11 p.m. Some regions of Canada and 28 more
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Wednesday, January 1, 2020
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Midnight US (East Coast) and Cuba
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1 a.m. US (Central), Mexico and nine more
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2 a.m. US (Mountain) and two more
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3 a.m. US (Pacific) and four more
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4 a.m. US (Alaska) and regions of French Polynesia
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4:30 a.m. Marquesas Islands/French Polynesia
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5 a.m. US (Hawaii) and two more
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6 a.m. American Samoa and two more
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7 a.m. Much of US minor outlying islands (unincorporated US territories in the Pacific)