The Muslim holy month of Ramadan has commenced globally. For the next 29 or 30 days, Muslims observing the fast will abstain from eating and drinking from dawn to dusk, a duration ranging from 12 to 16 hours depending on their geographical location. Muslims believe that Ramadan is the month when the first verses of the Quran were revealed to Prophet Muhammad over 1,400 years ago. The fast involves refraining from eating, drinking, smoking, and sexual relations during daylight hours to cultivate a heightened sense of ‘taqwa’, or consciousness of God.

Why does Ramadan start on different dates each year? Ramadan begins 10 to 12 days earlier annually, owing to the Islamic calendar’s lunar Hijri basis, which consists of months that are either 29 or 30 days long. As a result, in 2030, Ramadan will be observed twice, commencing first on January 5 and then on December 26.

Fasting hours vary around the world, with Muslims in the southernmost countries fasting for approximately 13 hours, while those in the northernmost regions face fasts of 16 hours or more on their longest days. For Muslims in the Northern Hemisphere, fasting hours will shorten until 2031, the year Ramadan will coincide with the winter solstice. Conversely, Muslims living south of the equator will experience an increase in daylight fasting hours.

The article also includes a table and an interactive map to display fasting times and durations worldwide. Cities with the longest and shortest fasting hours are listed, among which Nuuk, Greenland, and Reykjavik, Iceland, have the longest fasting hours of 16 hours.

Greetings for Ramadan differ across languages, with the most common being “Ramadan Mubarak” and “Ramadan Kareem”, wishing the recipient a blessed or generous month, respectively.

Source: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/3/2/ramadan-2025-fasting-hours-and-iftar-times-around-the-world?traffic_source=rss