<p>According to <a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8a/Standard_Time_Zones_of_the_World_%28August_2013%29.svg" rel="nofollow noreferrer">this map</a> Greenland has four time zones. On one hand, it is understandable given the vast size of the island. On the other hand, Wikipædia gives the size of population of Greenland to be slightly above 56 thousand. According to the same source, the largest cities of the UTC-4 zone and UTC-1 zone have 646 and 345 inhabitants, respectively.</p>
<p>It sounds a bit unusual to create a separate time zone for a few hundred of people (unless they live on a separate island). Would it not be easier if every islander's clock would show exactly the same time (even the reverse solution, namely, to create, for example, three time zones: Eastern (UTC-2), Central (UTC-3), Western (UTC-4) of comparable size for different parts of the island looks more logical than the current state of affairs)? So, why tiny time zones (historical reasons, for example?) and are there any plans to change it?</p>
<h1>Update</h1>
<p>It looks like the map I referred to is somewhat outdated. According to the resource <a href="https://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/greenland" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/greenland</a> (thanks to @trond hansen), the time zones currently in use in Greenland are as follows: UTC-3, UTC-1, UTC+0 (which looks a bit more common, but does not answer why three zones are needed).</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-09-02T15:15:30.607Z
this is a question about danish law, logic need not apply.
John
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2024-09-03T03:24:33.623Z
here is some information about greenland https://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/greenland
trond hansen
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-09-03T14:44:55.047Z
@trondhansen Thank you, I have updated the question.
S. N.
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-09-03T14:57:43.860Z
@John Well, that might be so, but... Do you think https://law.stackexchange.com/ would be a better place to ask this question? I feel somewhat confused, seriously, I always believed that questions of time zone distribution belong to the domain of geography (not a perfect fit, of course, but the best I can think of). The site geography.stackexchange.com is non-existent, so Earth sciences it is for the lack of better ideas...
S. N.
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-09-03T15:37:04.650Z
@S.N. this seems like the right site to me.  There may be no great answer, and it's not nearly as crazy as China being one time zone.  Honestly if you look at https://www.timeanddate.com/time/map/ it shows that Greenland should be in 5 time zones based upon the background lines.
JeopardyTempest
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-09-04T10:07:52.710Z
@JeopardyTempest You are right. Were the island area divided by meridians, it would be at least logical, albeit hardly optimal. Also, dividing the area into a few time zones of approximately the same size sounds like a solution which ist based on reality of daylight period and common sense. What I can't understand is why two tiny time zones (one of which differs by two hours!) were «carved out» of a huge one. Did not know about China being one time zone, yes, that is also a very bizarre situation.
S. N.
<time><greenland>
What is the rationale for having four time zones for Greenland?
S. N.
# What is the rationale for having four time zones for Greenland?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2024-09-02)

According to [this map](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8a/Standard_Time_Zones_of_the_World_%28August_2013%29.svg) Greenland has four time zones. On one hand, it is understandable given the vast size of the island. On the other hand, Wikipædia gives the size of population of Greenland to be slightly above 56 thousand. According to the same source, the largest cities of the UTC-4 zone and UTC-1 zone have 646 and 345 inhabitants, respectively.

It sounds a bit unusual to create a separate time zone for a few hundred of people (unless they live on a separate island). Would it not be easier if every islander's clock would show exactly the same time (even the reverse solution, namely, to create, for example, three time zones: Eastern (UTC-2), Central (UTC-3), Western (UTC-4) of comparable size for different parts of the island looks more logical than the current state of affairs)? So, why tiny time zones (historical reasons, for example?) and are there any plans to change it?

# Update

It looks like the map I referred to is somewhat outdated. According to the resource <https://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/greenland> (thanks to @username_2), the time zones currently in use in Greenland are as follows: UTC-3, UTC-1, UTC+0 (which looks a bit more common, but does not answer why three zones are needed).

**Tags:** time, greenland

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: this is a question about danish law, logic need not apply.  
> **username_2**: here is some information about greenland https://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/greenland  
> **username_0**: @username_2 Thank you, I have updated the question.  
> **username_0**: @username_1 Well, that might be so, but... Do you think https://law.stackexchange.com/ would be a better place to ask this question? I feel somewhat confused, seriously, I always believed that questions of time zone distribution belong to the domain of geography (not a perfect fit, of course, but the best I can think of). The site geography.stackexchange.com is non-existent, so Earth sciences it is for the lack of better ideas...  
> **username_3**: @S.N. this seems like the right site to me.  There may be no great answer, and it's not nearly as crazy as China being one time zone.  Honestly if you look at https://www.timeanddate.com/time/map/ it shows that Greenland should be in 5 time zones based upon the background lines.  
> **username_0**: @username_3 You are right. Were the island area divided by meridians, it would be at least logical, albeit hardly optimal. Also, dividing the area into a few time zones of approximately the same size sounds like a solution which ist based on reality of daylight period and common sense. What I can't understand is why two tiny time zones (one of which differs by two hours!) were «carved out» of a huge one. Did not know about China being one time zone, yes, that is also a very bizarre situation.  

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## 0 answers

