International Date Line

International Date Line

The International Date Line is an imaginary line that runs from the North to the South Pole at 180 degrees longitude. It marks the point where the date changes from one day to the next. On one side of the line, it is one day, and on the other side, it is the next day. The line runs through the Pacific Ocean, approximately following the 180th meridian, and it is where the time difference is one day. Crossing the line when traveling from west to east means losing one day, while crossing it from east to west means gaining one day. Because of the International Date Line, it is possible to leave one destination on one day and arrive at another the day before. The concept of the International Date Line was first introduced in 1884 to standardize global timekeeping and prevent confusion when traveling across the world.