In Parts of the World, 2026 Has Officially Begun

The calendar has already flipped to 2026 in one of the world's more remote corners. Kiritimati, an atoll in the Pacific nation of Kiribati, was among the first places on Earth to reach midnight, hitting the new year at 10:00 GMT (or 5am EST). Other islands in the scattered country will follow over the next several hours, as New Year's Eve rolls westward across the globe, reports the Guardian.

The first major city to welcome 2026 was New Zealand's Auckland, which did so at 11:00 GMT with a five-minute show involving fireworks launched from different floors of the nearly 800-foot-tall Sky Tower, the country's tallest structure. Next up will be Sydney at 13:00 GMT, though the city offered an earlier family-friendly fireworks show over Sydney Harbour Bridge.

The AP notes that Hong Kong will forgo its traditional fireworks display over Victoria Harbor following a devastating November fire that killed at least 161 people. In its place, a concert featuring soft rock duo Air Supply will be held, and the facades of eight landmarks will morph into huge countdown clocks ahead of midnight.