The transition to the UTC+5 time zone is a return to a historically justified time for the country, said Minister of Trade and Integration Arman Shakkaliev during a government meeting, as reported by the Adyrna national portal.
“UTC+5 covers longitudes between 67.5 and 82.5 degrees, which include major cities such as Astana, Almaty, Petropavl, Oskemen, Shymkent, Semey, and Pavlodar, encompassing over 76% of the population (15.24 million people). In reality, most of Kazakhstan’s territory already lies within the fifth time zone.
The previously extended time zone of UTC+6 was initially introduced in 1930–1931 through the use of daylight saving time (‘standard time + one hour’). Thus, UTC+5 is not a new region for our country but rather a return to a historically justified time,” Shakkaliev said at the government meeting on Tuesday.
According to him, 117 out of 195 countries worldwide have chosen a time zone that closely aligns with their geographical time.
He added that the International Alliance for Natural Time (IANT) has expressed support for Kazakhstan’s decision to designate UTC+5 as the time zone for the country’s central and eastern regions, as it corresponds to their geographical longitudes.
“Many countries worldwide have already selected time zones that closely align with natural cycles. Therefore, transitioning to UTC+5 is not a novelty but rather a return to natural time. The decision to change time zones is scientifically grounded, economically reasonable, and aligned with the country’s operational efficiency. After reviewing the proposal, concrete recommendations were provided to facilitate adaptation to standard time,” Shakkaliev explained.
Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov stated that the Minister of Trade and Integration presented comprehensive arguments in favor of the current time zone.
“The government supports this decision. The fifth time zone geographically covers most of the country. I instruct the ministries of Trade and Information to carry out clear informational and explanatory work,” Bektenov said.
It should be noted that Kazakhstan transitioned to a unified time zone (UTC+5) on the night of March 1 this year. Seven months have now passed since the change. The Ministry of Trade and Integration stated that this decision was made in response to numerous requests from citizens. However, some Kazakh citizens continue to criticize the government for changing the time zone without public consent.
On November 11, it was reported that Kazakhstan’s electricity imports from Russia had sharply increased after the country transitioned to a single time zone. However, the Ministry of Energy has tried to assure the public that the time zone change does not affect energy consumption.
On November 15, Marat Bakqulov, chairman of the Processing Industry Union and director of the Almaty Ventilation Plant, complained about the negative consequences of the time change in Kazakhstan.
