Vikrant Shekhawat : Jan 01, 2021, 05:22 PM
New Delhi: People around the world are bidding goodbye to 2020 and welcoming 2021 with new hope and light. Even though the countdown to 2021 began just before midnight across the world, not everybody is ringing in the New Year at the same time.Which country celebrates New Year first?Oceania is the first place to celebrate the New Year. The small Pacific island nations of Tonga, Samoa and Kiribati are the first countries to welcome New Year, where January 1 begins at 10 am GMT or 3:30 pm IST on December 31.Which country celebrates New Year last?The uninhabited islands of Howland and Baker Islands, near the United States, are the last places to welcome the New Year. They ring in the New Year at 12 pm GMT or 5:30 pm IST on January 1.Time of New Year 2021December 31 (as per GMT):New Zealand: 10:15 amAustralia (most regions): 1 pmJapan, South Korea and North Korea: 3 pmChina, Philippines and Singapore: 4 pmBangladesh: 6 pmNepal: 6:15 pmIndia and Sri Lanka: 6:30 pmPakistan: 7 pmGermany, France, Italy, Belgium and Spain: 11 pmUK, Ireland, Iceland, Portugal: 12 amJanuary 1 (as per GMT):Brazil (some regions): 2 amArgentina, Brazil (some regions), Chile and Paraguay: 3 amNew York, Washington, Detroit: 5 amChicago: 6 amColorado and Arizona: 7 amNevada: 8 amAlaska: 9 amHawaii: 10 amAmerican Samoa: 11 amHowland and Baker Islands: 12 pm