What line of longitude does the international date line follow? Skip to main content

What line of longitude does the international date line follow?

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Question: What line of longitude does the international date line follow?

The International Date Line (IDL) is an imaginary line that runs from the North Pole to the South Pole, separating one calendar day from the next. It is roughly based on the 180° line of longitude, but it deviates to pass around some territories and island groups. 


Why does the IDL exist? The Earth rotates on its axis once every 24 hours, which means that different regions of the planet experience sunrise and sunset at different times. To keep track of time, the world is divided into 24 time zones, each one hour apart. However, there is a problem when you travel across the globe and cross the 180° meridian, which is the halfway point between the prime meridian (0° longitude) and its opposite point (180° longitude). If you go eastward across this line, you move your clock back one hour, and if you go westward, you move it forward one hour. This means that if you keep traveling in the same direction, you will eventually be 24 hours ahead or behind the local time. To avoid this confusion, the IDL was created as a convention to mark the change of one calendar day to another.


When you cross the IDL, the date changes by one day. If you cross it from west to east, you subtract a day, and if you cross from east to west, you add a day. For example, if you travel from Tokyo (Japan) to Honolulu (Hawaii), you cross the IDL and change from Monday to Sunday. Conversely, if you travel from Honolulu to Tokyo, you change from Sunday to Monday.


The IDL is not a fixed line, but rather a flexible one that can be adjusted by international agreement or for political and economic reasons. For example, in 2011, Samoa moved from east to west of the IDL to align its time zone with its main trading partners in Australia and New Zealand. This meant that Samoa skipped December 30 and went directly from December 29 to December 31. Similarly, in 1995, Kiribati moved some of its islands from west to east of the IDL to have all its territory in the same date. This created a large bulge in the IDL around Kiribati and also made it the first country to enter the new year.


The IDL has no legal status, but it is recognized as a matter of convenience and practicality. It is also important for travelers, pilots, sailors, and anyone who needs to coordinate time across different regions of the world.

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