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Happy New Year 2026: Kiribati was the first to celebrate the New Year, followed by Samoa, Tonga, Tokelau and New Zealand to welcome 2026 with fireworks at the Sky Tower. When Kiribati celebrated the first day of the New Year, it was 3:30 pm in India. New Zealand celebrates the New Year about six and a half hours before us and Australia five and a half hours earlier (in India it is 6:30).
In 1994, Kiribati changed time zones across the International Date Line.New Delhi. Kiribati, a small island country of the world, has welcomed the New Year with great pomp and show. People were seen immersed in New Year celebrations here about eight and a half hours before India. Kiribati is made up of 33 atolls (atoll means rounded coral reef) – covering more than 3.5 million square km (1.4 million square miles) of the Pacific Ocean.
In 1994, Kiribati – pronounced “Kiribas” – changed time zones across the International Date Line, so that all 33 islands have the same date (previously some islands were on the eastern side of the International Date Line). The Pacific island nations of Samoa, Tonga, and Tokelau – a dependent territory of New Zealand about 3,500 km north of Auckland – have also welcomed 2026 with celebrations.
After this, New Zealand also welcomed the New Year with fireworks. Auckland lights up the New Year with colorful fireworks at the Sky Tower. The five-minute show featured 3,500 firecrackers fired from different floors of the 240-metre (787 ft) tall tower, which is New Zealand’s tallest building. Let us know how many more hours we wait when some countries of the world celebrate the New Year before us.
When Kiribati celebrated the first day of the New Year, it was 3:30 pm in India. New Zealand celebrates the New Year about six and a half hours before us, Australia five and a half hours before us (it is 6:30 in India), Japan three and a half hours before, Thailand one and a half hours before, Bangladesh half an hour before us, and Nepal welcomes the New Year just 15 minutes before.
About the author
Rakesh Ranjan Kumar has more than 10 years of experience in digital journalism. Before joining AyraNews24x7, he has worked in Live Hindustan, Dainik Jagran, Zee News, Jansatta and Dainik Bhaskar. Currently he h…read more
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