2026 is here! Clock strikes midnight at Kiribati Islands; Tongans and New Zealanders welcome New Year 

TARAWA: The world welcomes the New Year with new hopes. 2026 was born in the remote Pacific island nation of Kiribati, where the New Year arrives first. Kiribati is an island nation spread over an area of ​​​​more than 3.5 million square kilometres in the Pacific Ocean, consisting of 33 atolls. The population here is about 1,16,000.

Soon after Kiribati, the New Year arrived in Samoa, Tonga, New Zealand, and Australia. The New Year will arrive in India after reaching Japan and China. The last place to welcome the New Year is in the US. The uninhabited Baker Island will be the last to celebrate the end of 2025.