The Pacific Island nations of Tonga, Samoa and Kiribati were the first to see in the new year - when it was still 5 a.m. on December 31 on the East Coast of the United States and 11 a.m. UTC (Coordinated Universal Time, the global standard). New Zealand was next, an hour later.
Here's when the world has been and will beringing in the New Year, relative to East Coast time.
Tuesday, December 31, 2019
5 a.m. ET Samoa, Tonga and Christmas Island/Kiribati
5:15 a.m. Chatham Islands/New Zealand
6 a.m. New Zealand (with a few exceptions) and five more locations/islands
7 a.m. Small region of Russia and seven more locations
8 a.m. Much of Australia and seven more (including Melbourne and Sydney)
8:30 a.m. Small region of Australia (including Adelaide)
9 a.m. Queensland/Australia and six more (including Brisbane)
9:30 a.m. Northern Territory/Australia (including Alice Springs)
10 a.m. Japan, South Korea and four more
10:15 a.m. Western Australia/Australia
11 a.m. China, Philippines and 10 more
Noon Much of Indonesia, Thailand and seven more
12:30 p.m. Myanmar and Cocos Islands
1 p.m. Bangladesh and six more
1:15 p.m. Nepal
1:30 p.m. India and Sri Lanka
2 p.m. Pakistan and eight more
2:30 p.m. Afghanistan
3 p.m. Azerbaijan and eight more
3:30 p.m. Iran
4 p.m. Moscow/Russia and 22 more
5 p.m. Greece and 31 more (including Egypt, South Africa and Romania)
6 p.m. Germany and 45 more (including Algeria, Italy, Belgium and France)
7 p.m. United Kingdom and 24 more (including Portugal and Iceland)
8 p.m. Cabo Verde and two more
9 p.m. Regions of Brazil and South Georgia/Sandwich Islands
10 p.m. Most of Brazil, Angetina and nine more
10:30 p.m. Newfoundland and Labrador/Canada
11 p.m. Some regions of Canada and 28 more
Wednesday, January 1, 2020
Midnight US (East Coast) and Cuba
1 a.m. US (Central), Mexico and nine more
2 a.m. US (Mountain) and two more
3 a.m. US (Pacific) and four more
4 a.m. US (Alaska) and regions of French Polynesia
4:30 a.m. Marquesas Islands/French Polynesia
5 a.m. US (Hawaii) and two more
6 a.m. American Samoa and two more
7 a.m. Much of US minor outlying islands (unincorporated US territories in the Pacific)