KUALA LUMPUR: Over a billion Muslims worldwide began fasting for Ramadan, which began on March 11 and 12.
During Ramadan, Muslims dedicate themselves to this sacred practice, abstaining from eating and drinking from dawn to dusk.
However, a question often arises: which nation faces the longest fasting period?
The timing of sunrise and sunset varies significantly across the globe due to differences in geographical location. Countries situated closer to the northernmost latitudes, nearer to the poles, experience longer daylight hours than others.
This geographical diversity significantly influences fasting durations.
Fasting in Malaysia typically spans around 13 hours, but regions with extended daylight, such as polar regions experiencing summers, may face fasting periods lasting anywhere from 17 to 20 hours.
These durations depend on prevailing seasonal conditions in each respective locality.
In 2024, Muslims in Finland, Greenland, and Iceland are enduring the longest fasting periods, averaging around 17 hours of fasting daily.
Muslims in Nuuk, Greenland, are expected to fast for 17 hours and 52 minutes, followed by Reykjavik, Iceland, at 17 hours and 25 minutes, and Helsinki, Finland, at 17 hours and 9 minutes.
Conversely, Muslims in Chile experience the shortest fasting period during Ramadan, averaging 12 hours and 44 minutes.
Fasting hours will be slightly shorter this year for Muslims residing in the Northern Hemisphere. They will continue to decrease until 2031, coinciding with Ramadan encompassing the winter solstice – the shortest day of the year.
Subsequently, fasting hours will increase until the summer solstice – the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere.
However, the opposite trend will occur for fasting Muslims residing south of the equator.
In extreme northernmost cities like Longyearbyen in Norway, where the sun does not set from April 20 to August 22, religious rulings have been issued to follow timings in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, or the nearest Muslim country, as reported by Al Jazeera.
In 2024, Saudi Arabia and much of the Middle East are fasting for approximately 13.5 to 14 hours per day. Meanwhile, Tunisia holds the record for the longest Ramadan fasting duration in the region, lasting 14 hours and 29 minutes.
