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> Home Blog It’s Nothing O’Clock! – Anglais facile : parler du temps et des fuseaux horaires

It’s Nothing O’Clock! – Anglais facile : parler du temps et des fuseaux horaires

812 Views 1 Liked Posted on: January 21st 2026

It’s nothing o’ clock!

Niveau A2-B1

Imagine a place where time doesn’t exist. Impossible! Yet… At the North Pole and South Pole, time zones disappear.

GE_Its-nothing-o-clock__Jan26_Blog2_Goen

It may seem strange but it’s true. On Earth, time zones are based on lines of longitude. These lines go from the North to the South Pole. But at the poles, all the lines meet. This means that a single point at the poles is part of every time zone — or none at all.

Because of this phenomenon, explorers and scientists who travel to polar regions choose their own time zone. Sometimes they use the time zone of their home country. If they work at a research base in Antarctica, they often use the time zone of the country in charge of the base.

But time isn’t only about hours and minutes, of course!

GE_Its-nothing-o-clock__Jan26_Blog2_Goen

At the poles, sunlight behaves in a strange way too. At the North Pole, the sun rises and sets only once a year. It rises at the March equinox, and stays above the horizon for six months. Then, it sets in September. It doesn’t rise again until the following March. This is the same for the South Pole but during opposite seasons. At the South Pole, the sun rises during the September equinox in autumn and sets in March.

This means that “day” and “night” lose their normal meaning. Why? Because the poles either have constant daylight or constant darkness. Imagine living a day that lasts for six months, and then a night that last for another six months!

So, for people at the poles, time is different than to the rest of the world. It’s a flexible concept for them. While explorers choose the time zone that makes sense to them, light and dark rule their days rather than clocks.

Living at the poles must be challenging. But there is an advantage… you’ll never be late for anything!

yet: (ici) pourtant

own: propre

in charge of: responsible de

the sunlight: l’ensoleillement

to behave: se comporter

the following: le suivant

opposite: (ici) contraire

a meaning: un sens

either… or: soit… soit

the darkness: l’obscurité

to last: durer

while: (ici) bien que

Crédits photo : shutterstock

Posted in: Travel, Culture

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