Ranking
Clock versus sun
Solar noon in every city in the atlas
Time zones are political, not astronomical. A country can put its whole territory on one clock, and the further a city sits from that clock’s true meridian, the more the sun disagrees with it.
Latest solar noon on EarthGarsun peaks 14:40 local
EarliestVorkutasun peaks 10:44 local
Spread3.9 hacross 33,870 cities over 15,000
The extremes worldwide
Drawn from every city over 15,000 people, not just the ones with a page here. Linked names have one.
| City | Country | Zone | Solar noon | Offset |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gar | CN | Asia/Shanghai | 14:40 | +2.66 h |
| Bole | CN | Asia/Shanghai | 14:32 | +2.53 h |
| Rikaze | CN | Asia/Shanghai | 14:04 | +2.08 h |
| Dakhla | EH | Africa/El_Aaiun | 14:04 | +2.06 h |
| Luobuqiongzi | CN | Asia/Shanghai | 14:03 | +2.05 h |
| Whitehorse | CA | America/Whitehorse | 14:00 | +2.00 h |
| Nyêmo | CN | Asia/Shanghai | 13:59 | +1.99 h |
| Mangnai Zhen | CN | Asia/Shanghai | 13:59 | +1.99 h |
| Boujdour | EH | Africa/El_Aaiun | 13:58 | +1.97 h |
| Dêqên | CN | Asia/Shanghai | 13:57 | +1.95 h |
| Quxu | CN | Asia/Shanghai | 13:57 | +1.95 h |
| Huatugou | CN | Asia/Shanghai | 13:57 | +1.94 h |
| Tatarsk | RU | Asia/Novosibirsk | 13:56 | +1.94 h |
| Doilungdêqên | CN | Asia/Shanghai | 13:56 | +1.93 h |
| Chéngguān Qū | CN | Asia/Shanghai | 13:56 | +1.93 h |
| Lhasa | CN | Asia/Shanghai | 13:56 | +1.93 h |
| Damxung | CN | Asia/Shanghai | 13:56 | +1.93 h |
| Ancud | CL | America/Santiago | 13:55 | +1.92 h |
| Castro | CL | America/Santiago | 13:55 | +1.92 h |
| Lhünzhub | CN | Asia/Shanghai | 13:55 | +1.92 h |
| Vorkuta | RU | Europe/Moscow | 10:44 | -1.27 h |
| Vorgashor | RU | Europe/Moscow | 10:45 | -1.25 h |
| Inta | RU | Europe/Moscow | 10:59 | -1.01 h |
| Fuyuan | CN | Asia/Shanghai | 11:03 | -0.95 h |
| Tezu | IN | Asia/Kolkata | 11:05 | -0.91 h |
| Margherita | IN | Asia/Kolkata | 11:07 | -0.88 h |
| Digboi | IN | Asia/Kolkata | 11:08 | -0.88 h |
| Dum Duma | IN | Asia/Kolkata | 11:08 | -0.87 h |
| Mākum | IN | Asia/Kolkata | 11:08 | -0.86 h |
| Tinsukia | IN | Asia/Kolkata | 11:09 | -0.86 h |
| Nāmrup | IN | Asia/Kolkata | 11:09 | -0.85 h |
| Nahorkatiya | IN | Asia/Kolkata | 11:09 | -0.85 h |
| Pāsighāt | IN | Asia/Kolkata | 11:09 | -0.85 h |
| Duliajan | IN | Asia/Kolkata | 11:09 | -0.85 h |
| Duliajan Oil Town | IN | Asia/Kolkata | 11:09 | -0.85 h |
| Mon | IN | Asia/Kolkata | 11:10 | -0.84 h |
| Sonāri | IN | Asia/Kolkata | 11:10 | -0.83 h |
| Usinsk | RU | Europe/Moscow | 11:10 | -0.83 h |
| Dibrugarh | IN | Asia/Kolkata | 11:10 | -0.83 h |
| Jining | IN | Asia/Kolkata | 11:11 | -0.82 h |
Within the atlas
Latest: Santiago at 13:43. Earliest: Recife at 11:20 — a spread of 2.4 h.
Clock furthest ahead of the sun
Midday on the clock arrives long before the sun is overhead. Almost always a sign of a time zone stretched west.
| City | Country | Zone | Solar noon | Offset |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Santiago | CL | America/Santiago | 13:43 | +1.71 h |
| Casablanca | MA | Africa/Casablanca | 13:30 | +1.51 h |
| Novosibirsk | RU | Asia/Novosibirsk | 13:28 | +1.47 h |
| Reykjavík | IS | Atlantic/Reykjavik | 13:28 | +1.46 h |
| Rabat | MA | Africa/Casablanca | 13:27 | +1.46 h |
| Tangier | MA | Africa/Casablanca | 13:23 | +1.39 h |
| Auckland | NZ | Pacific/Auckland | 13:21 | +1.35 h |
| Wellington | NZ | Pacific/Auckland | 13:21 | +1.35 h |
| Melbourne | AU | Australia/Melbourne | 13:20 | +1.34 h |
| Fes | MA | Africa/Casablanca | 13:20 | +1.33 h |
| Córdoba | AR | America/Argentina/Cordoba | 13:17 | +1.28 h |
| Ufa | RU | Asia/Yekaterinburg | 13:16 | +1.27 h |
| Adelaide | AU | Australia/Adelaide | 13:16 | +1.26 h |
| Madrid | ES | Europe/Madrid | 13:15 | +1.25 h |
| Kuala Lumpur | MY | Asia/Kuala_Lumpur | 13:13 | +1.22 h |
| Xining | CN | Asia/Shanghai | 13:13 | +1.22 h |
| İzmir | TR | Europe/Istanbul | 13:11 | +1.19 h |
| Dakar | SN | Africa/Dakar | 13:10 | +1.16 h |
| Minsk | BY | Europe/Minsk | 13:10 | +1.16 h |
| Wuwei | CN | Asia/Shanghai | 13:09 | +1.16 h |
| Kunming | CN | Asia/Shanghai | 13:09 | +1.15 h |
| Tripoli | LY | Africa/Tripoli | 13:07 | +1.12 h |
| Omsk | RU | Asia/Omsk | 13:07 | +1.11 h |
| Ashgabat | TM | Asia/Ashgabat | 13:06 | +1.11 h |
| Banjul | GM | Africa/Banjul | 13:06 | +1.11 h |
| Qujing | CN | Asia/Shanghai | 13:05 | +1.08 h |
| Lanzhou | CN | Asia/Shanghai | 13:05 | +1.08 h |
| Meishan | CN | Asia/Shanghai | 13:05 | +1.08 h |
| Singapore | SG | Asia/Singapore | 13:05 | +1.08 h |
| Istanbul | TR | Europe/Istanbul | 13:04 | +1.07 h |
| Nouakchott | MR | Africa/Nouakchott | 13:04 | +1.07 h |
| Bursa | TR | Europe/Istanbul | 13:04 | +1.06 h |
| Chengdu | CN | Asia/Shanghai | 13:04 | +1.06 h |
| Touba | SN | Africa/Dakar | 13:04 | +1.06 h |
| Canberra | AU | Australia/Sydney | 13:03 | +1.06 h |
| Bissau | GW | Africa/Bissau | 13:02 | +1.04 h |
| Yerevan | AM | Asia/Yerevan | 13:02 | +1.03 h |
| Bishkek | KG | Asia/Bishkek | 13:02 | +1.03 h |
| Mianyang | CN | Asia/Shanghai | 13:01 | +1.02 h |
| Zigong | CN | Asia/Shanghai | 13:01 | +1.01 h |
| Liupanshui | CN | Asia/Shanghai | 13:01 | +1.01 h |
| Tbilisi | GE | Asia/Tbilisi | 13:01 | +1.01 h |
| Neijiang | CN | Asia/Shanghai | 12:00 | +1.00 h |
| Zhongwei | CN | Asia/Shanghai | 12:59 | +0.99 h |
| Bijie | CN | Asia/Shanghai | 12:59 | +0.98 h |
| Saint Petersburg | RU | Europe/Moscow | 12:59 | +0.98 h |
| Yekaterinburg | RU | Asia/Yekaterinburg | 12:58 | +0.96 h |
| Antalya | TR | Europe/Istanbul | 12:57 | +0.95 h |
| Tianshui | CN | Asia/Shanghai | 12:57 | +0.95 h |
| Nanchong | CN | Asia/Shanghai | 12:56 | +0.93 h |
Clock furthest behind the sun
The sun is overhead well before the clock says midday.
| City | Country | Zone | Solar noon | Offset |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Recife | BR | America/Recife | 11:20 | -0.67 h |
| Maceió | BR | America/Maceio | 11:23 | -0.62 h |
| Surabaya | ID | Asia/Jakarta | 11:29 | -0.52 h |
| Mashhad | IR | Asia/Tehran | 11:32 | -0.47 h |
| São Tomé | ST | Africa/Sao_Tome | 11:33 | -0.45 h |
| Harbin | CN | Asia/Shanghai | 11:33 | -0.44 h |
| Jilin | CN | Asia/Shanghai | 11:34 | -0.44 h |
| Doha | QA | Asia/Qatar | 11:34 | -0.44 h |
| Salvador | BR | America/Bahia | 11:34 | -0.43 h |
| Fortaleza | BR | America/Fortaleza | 11:34 | -0.43 h |
| Skopje | MK | Europe/Skopje | 11:34 | -0.43 h |
| Sapporo | JP | Asia/Tokyo | 11:35 | -0.42 h |
| Kharkiv | UA | Europe/Kyiv | 11:35 | -0.42 h |
| Pristina | XK | Europe/Belgrade | 11:35 | -0.41 h |
| Warsaw | PL | Europe/Warsaw | 11:36 | -0.40 h |
| San José | CR | America/Costa_Rica | 11:36 | -0.39 h |
| Sendai | JP | Asia/Tokyo | 11:37 | -0.39 h |
| Kolkata | IN | Asia/Kolkata | 11:37 | -0.39 h |
| Howrah | IN | Asia/Kolkata | 11:37 | -0.39 h |
| Jepara | ID | Asia/Jakarta | 11:37 | -0.38 h |
| Davao | PH | Asia/Manila | 11:38 | -0.37 h |
| Manama | BH | Asia/Bahrain | 11:38 | -0.37 h |
| Beirut | LB | Asia/Beirut | 11:38 | -0.37 h |
| Belgrade | RS | Europe/Belgrade | 11:38 | -0.36 h |
| Semarang | ID | Asia/Jakarta | 11:38 | -0.36 h |
| Changchun | CN | Asia/Shanghai | 11:39 | -0.35 h |
| East Jerusalem | PS | Asia/Hebron | 11:39 | -0.35 h |
| Jerusalem | IL | Asia/Jerusalem | 11:39 | -0.35 h |
| Ramallah | PS | Asia/Hebron | 11:39 | -0.35 h |
| Dammam | SA | Asia/Riyadh | 11:40 | -0.34 h |
| Daqing | CN | Asia/Shanghai | 11:40 | -0.33 h |
| Tirana | AL | Europe/Tirane | 11:41 | -0.32 h |
| Kawasaki | JP | Asia/Tokyo | 11:41 | -0.31 h |
| Tokyo | JP | Asia/Tokyo | 11:41 | -0.31 h |
| Saitama | JP | Asia/Tokyo | 11:41 | -0.31 h |
| Yokohama | JP | Asia/Tokyo | 11:41 | -0.31 h |
| Mexicali | MX | America/Tijuana | 11:42 | -0.30 h |
| Malingao | PH | Asia/Manila | 11:42 | -0.30 h |
| Budta | PH | Asia/Manila | 11:42 | -0.30 h |
| Podgorica | ME | Europe/Podgorica | 11:43 | -0.28 h |
| Kazan | RU | Europe/Moscow | 11:44 | -0.27 h |
| Pest | HU | Europe/Budapest | 11:44 | -0.27 h |
| Budapest | HU | Europe/Budapest | 11:44 | -0.27 h |
| Fushun | CN | Asia/Shanghai | 11:44 | -0.26 h |
| Dhanbad | IN | Asia/Kolkata | 11:44 | -0.26 h |
| Lilongwe | MW | Africa/Blantyre | 11:45 | -0.25 h |
| Managua | NI | America/Managua | 11:45 | -0.25 h |
| Jamshedpur | IN | Asia/Kolkata | 11:45 | -0.25 h |
| Bangui | CF | Africa/Bangui | 11:46 | -0.24 h |
| Arequipa | PE | America/Lima | 11:46 | -0.23 h |
How this is computed
Solar noon is derived from longitude: the sun crosses one degree every four minutes. Comparing that to the city's declared UTC offset gives the gap between civil time and the sun. Offsets are taken in January to avoid daylight saving, and wrapped across the date line. No adjustment is made for the equation of time, which shifts true solar noon by up to about 16 minutes through the year.