Countries across the globe have begun ushering in the New Year, with celebrations unfolding sequentially across different time zones and marked by fireworks, cultural traditions, religious observances and large public gatherings.
The first celebrations took place in the Pacific, where Kiribati, Samoa and Tonga were among the earliest nations to welcome the New Year. New Zealand followed soon after, with fireworks illuminating city skylines and signaling the start of worldwide festivities.
Across the Asia-Pacific region, countries such as Australia, Japan, South Korea, China, the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore and India marked the occasion in varied and culturally distinct ways.
While many cities in Europe, Africa, Asia and the Americas were still preparing for New Year’s Eve events, parts of Kiribati had already entered the New Year by 3:30 pm IST. Each year, Kiribati becomes the first country to welcome the New Year, a distinction rooted in geography and global timekeeping rather than celebration alone.
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Kiribati is a small island nation comprising 33 coral atolls and islands scattered across the Pacific Ocean. These are grouped into the Gilbert, Phoenix and Line Islands. The Line Islands, also known as Kiritimati or Christmas Island, lie in the world’s most advanced time zone, UTC+14. As a result, they are the first inhabited places on Earth to begin a new day and a new year.
As much of the world awaits midnight, Kiribati quietly steps into the New Year hours earlier, long before countdowns and fireworks begin elsewhere.
As the New Year dawned across continents, messages of hope and renewal resonated worldwide, with leaders and citizens alike expressing optimism for the year ahead amid ongoing global challenges.