Over a billion Muslims around the world are eagerly awaiting the arrival of Ramadan 2026. Forecasts indicate that fasting hours this year will be relatively shorter compared to last year, providing some relief to fasting individuals. The duration of fasting varies from country to country depending on geographical location and latitude, differing according to the sunrise and sunset times in each region. In the Middle East and North African countries, fasting hours remain relatively moderate due to their proximity to the equator, while the duration increases as we move north due to longer daylight hours, and shortens in the south where there is less daylight. In the United Arab Emirates, the first day of fasting is expected to last about 12 hours and 46 minutes, which is about half an hour less than the first day of Ramadan last year, which reached 13 hours and 16 minutes, with the duration gradually increasing as the month progresses. In contrast, remote northern regions like Russia, Greenland, and Iceland experience the longest fasting periods due to their high latitudes. Countries such as Norway, Sweden, and Finland also record more than 16 hours of fasting daily, and in some northern high-altitude areas, including parts of Canada, the duration can reach up to 20 hours due to the extremely long daylight. Islamic scholars have offered Muslims residing in regions with unusually long daylight hours two options: either follow the fasting schedule in Mecca, where conditions are relatively moderate, or rely on the time of the nearest geographically moderate city. Conversely, countries close to the equator or located in the Southern Hemisphere have shorter fasting hours, such as Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, South Africa, Chile, and New Zealand, where the duration typically ranges between 11 and 13 hours. As for tropical regions like Indonesia, Malaysia, and Kenya, they witness a relatively stable fasting duration ranging from 12 to 14 hours.
