ASTANA – Kazakhstan is set to switch to a single fifth time zone (UTC+05.00) from March 1 according to the Jan. 19 government decree, reported the Ministry of Trade and Integration press service.
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According to the document, on March 1, the cities of Astana, Almaty, and Shymkent as well as the Abai, Akmola, Almaty, Zhambyl, Zhetisu, Karagandy, Kostanai, Pavlodar, North Kazakhstan, Turkistan, Ulytau and East Kazakhstan regions will turn back the local time by one hour.
Kazakhstan uses two time zones – UTC+05.00 and UTC+06.00. Most of the country’s territory, except the western regions, uses the UTC+06.00 time zone.
According to scientists, transitioning to a single time zone UTC+05.00 will positively affect biological rhythms and human health.
Experts noted that the establishment of a single time zone will eliminate temporary barriers between residents of the country’s regions, improve the coordination of transport and other communications, and have a beneficial effect on doing business, and interaction between government agencies and emergency services.
According to scientists, 175 countries use a single time zone. Only 22 states use two or more time zones.
