Kazakhstan will change the clock to a single time zone in 2024, according to a decree submitted for public discussion by the Committee for Technical Regulation and Metrology of the Ministry of Trade and Integration on the Open Legalacts portal, QazMonitor reports.
Which regions will change the clocks?
Specifically, the decree stipulates that the local time in the akimats of Astana, Almaty, Shymkent, and the regions of Abay, Akmola, Almaty, Zhambyl, Zhetysu, Karaganda, Kostanay, Pavlodar, North Kazakhstan, Turkestan, Ulytau, and East Kazakhstan regions will be set one hour back during the night from February 29, 2024, to March 01, 2024 (at 00:00 hours).
As of now, the country has two time zones (UTC+5, UTC+6). Atyrau, West Kazakhstan, Mangistau, Aktobe, and Kyzylorda regions currently observe the fourth time zone (UTC+4+1). Cities such as Astana, Almaty, Shymkent, and other oblasts (Kostanay, North-Kazakhstan, Akmola, Karaganda, Ulytau, Turkistan, Zhambyl, Pavlodar, East Kazakhstan, Abay, Zhetysu, Almaty) belong to the fifth time zone (UTC+5+1).
Currently, a significant portion of Kazakhstan's citizens (residents of Kostanay, Akmola, North-Kazakhstan, Karaganda, Pavlodar, Almaty, Turkestan, Zhambyl, Astana, Almaty, Shymkent) ‘live ahead’ of their geographical time, following the administrative time zone UTC+6, even though territorially these regions are in the UTC+5 time zone.
The document emphasizes the need to adopt permanent time zones that align as closely as possible with the sun (natural time) is linked to health, economic, and safety benefits.
