The Ministry of Trade and Integration has adopted a decision to establish a single UTC+5 time zone in Kazakhstan, effective from March 1, QazMonitor reports citing the Ministry’s press service.
According to the changes, the cities of Astana, Almaty, Shymkent, and the regions of Abay, Akmola, Almaty, East Kazakhstan, Zhambyl, Zhetysu, Karagandy, Kostanay, Pavlodar, North Kazakhstan, Turkistan, and Ulytau regions will adjust their local time back by one hour on the night from February 29 to March 1, at midnight.
Currently, Kazakhstan observes two time zones, UTC+5 and UTC+6, with most of the country's territory (except for the western regions) in the UTC+6 zone.
Over the past year, members of the working group have examined the issue of establishing a favorable time zone in Kazakhstan and have agreed that the transition to UTC+5 will allow most regions in the country to align their time closely with solar time.
