Our globe spins around its axis in the direction from west to east. Thus, for us, the Sun seems to be moving in the opposite direction. In the morning we see him in the east, and in the evening - tending to the west. But what happens if we change our location and move, for example, a thousand kilometers east? It turns out that in this area the Sun appears above the horizon earlier. But in the area lying to the west of the first observation point, the sun has not yet risen. Thus, at the same time at different points on the globe, the dials indicate different numbers. So what is the time zone of Europe? This is a region in which the same time is set.
In general, in the world there are 24 such belts - by the
number of hours in a day. It is important to know that there is a so-called
date line. It passes through the Pacific Ocean. When west of this line is noon on March 24, then east is one in the afternoon, but only on the 23rd. Sets the tone for all time on Earth. The
Greenwich Meridian. It is named for a small village near London. Thus, the UK (and at the same time with it, Ireland, Portugal and Iceland) are in the zero time zone of Europe. It is indicated by UTC 0.
To the west of it stretches the
Atlantic Ocean with a few islands. Nevertheless, time also exists there. If it’s noon in London, then in the UTC-1 belt it’s only eleven o’clock in the morning. But in the territories lying east of Greenwich, the day has already come. This time zone of Europe is designated UTC + 1. It covers several countries at once - from Spain in the west to Poland in the east. Therefore, the time there is called Western European.
Further east lies the time zone of Europe called UTC + 2. It covers Finland, the Baltic countries, Ukraine, Moldova, Romania, Bulgaria, Greece and Turkey. In winter, another belt is formed - Belarus. She does not translate the clock on the last Sunday of October an hour ago. Thus, from November to March, when it is noon in London and three days in Minsk.
Contributes to the time zones of Europe and the Russian Federation. She also lives in summertime all year round. Therefore, in June, the difference with Great Britain in Moscow is + 3 hours, and in December + 4. In general, it is difficult to judge what the division of the Earth into time zones from geography, and what from politics. Southern countries do not switch to summer time, since they have no need for this - the sun rises so high above the horizon, and
daylight hours are approximately 12 hours. In the countries lying beyond the Arctic Belt, the concept of “day” in December is very arbitrary.
In general, one time zone is not limited only to Europe. It runs a long strip from the North Pole to the South and covers many territories lying in Africa or Asia. If not for the political division of territories into states, these belts would divide our planet into 24 identical segments. But for convenience, each country adheres to one time. For example, the eastern territories of Ukraine still live an hour later than the more western Russian lands. Therefore, the time zones of Europe on the map have many strange bends - their borders pass along the sovereign “cordons” of states.