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We know that the earth is divided using several imaginary lines of latitude and lines of longitude. They are often used to give the location of a particular place. Since the earth is revolving around its axis, the time when day starts at different places around the globe differs. Hence, it may be that when your day is starting, someone in another part of the world is getting ready to go to bed at night. The longitudinal location of a place determines the time of a place. As such, it was found out that we need an International Date Line where the date on one side is a single day ahead of the date on the other side. Let us read about and learn more regarding the International Date Line.
What are Latitudes?
The latitude refers to the angular distance of a place north or south of the equator, which is the line that divides the earth into two equal halves.The lines of latitude are imaginary horizontal lines present on the globe at a distance of 1o from each other. They start from 0o and go till 90o in both north and south direction. The equator is taken as a line of reference and is considered to be at 0o.
The lines of latitude are always parallel to each other and its size decreases as one travels from the center towards the top or bottom of the globe. The lines of latitude never meet with each other. These lines are imaginary and are only used for referencing the location of a place with respect to the equator and also determines the climate conditions of a place. The approximate distance between two lines of latitude is about 69 miles or about 110 kilometers.
What are Longitudes?
Longitude of a place refers to the angular distance of a place when measured from the prime meridian. The Prime Meridian is the line of longitude that passes through Greenwich, London. And is taken as the reference line for all other longitudes. It is marked as the 0o longitude.
If you have ever seen the world map, you will notice that there are lines on the map that run from the north to south. These lines are actually lines of longitude and they start from 0o and go till 180o. The lines of longitude are of the same length and they meet at the poles of the earth. The lines of longitude are the furthest apart from each other at the equator and become close as they go near the north and south poles. These lines are imaginary and are used only for referencing the location of a place and its time.
What is the International Date Line?
The International Date Line was established in 1884 and is used to demarcate the change in date as one travels from the east of the line to the west. The west is ahead by a day when compared to the east. It runs roughly along the 180o longitude and takes a few deviations to keep islands and land belonging to a particular territory or country to one side. If the International Date Line crossed across countries, many date-related problems might have occured.
The International Date Line does not come with any legal bindings. Countries are free to follow any date they like. People travelling using a ship or an airplane need to adjust the date on their watches or mobile phones whenever they cross the International Date Line. In most cases, physical date and time setting is not needed for mobile phones since they adjust using the telecom service provider’s network towers. The importance of the International Date Line is that it helps in demarcating the change in dates when a person travels from the far east to the west. Otherwise, it would seem that the travel took 1 day too less or 1 day extra for the journey.
Conclusion
Now that you know about the International Date Line, you know why it is important. The lines of longitudes which play an important role in determining the time of a place. Some countries, which have a large east-to-west region follow multiple time zones, while other countries which are relatively smaller follow only single time zone. It helps in following a standard time for a particular area or territory and makes abiding by time easier.
