Chuuk, Micronesia · UTC+10 ☆

Chuuk is one of the four states of the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), sitting in the central Pacific Ocean. It runs on Pacific/Chuuk: UTC+10, year-round. No daylight saving time is observed.

Chuuk Lagoon, one of the world’s largest enclosed lagoons, is surrounded by a coral reef and contains dozens of islands. At roughly 7 degrees north latitude, Chuuk has near-constant equatorial daylight: sunrise around 6am, sunset around 6:15pm, with minimal seasonal variation.

The ghost fleet

Chuuk Lagoon contains the largest collection of WWII shipwrecks in the world. During Operation Hailstone in February 1944, US forces launched devastating air attacks on the Japanese naval base at Truk Lagoon, sinking over 40 ships and hundreds of aircraft in two days. The date: February 17-18, 1944, a date burned into the history of the Pacific War.

Today, those wrecks, encrusted with coral after 80 years underwater, are one of the world’s premier dive destinations. Dive boats leave the main island of Weno daily to take divers to the underwater museum. The schedules are governed by tides, currents, and visibility conditions as much as by clock time.

Across the international date line

Chuuk at UTC+10 puts it 10 hours ahead of London in winter. It is in the same 24-hour period as Eastern Australia, while Hawaii (UTC-10) is 20 hours behind. The Pacific Ocean’s vast span means that places within it span the entire day: while it’s morning in Chuuk, it’s the previous evening in Hawai’i.

The time conversion from Chuuk to London puts London ten hours behind. Pohnpei in the eastern FSM uses UTC+11.

Sources

• IANA Time Zone Database
• FSM Government
• Chuuk State Government