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Ramadan rankings: where in the world are Muslims fasting the most hours?
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A Pakistani volunteer pours milk mixed with fruit juice for people gathered to break their day's fast (16 hours long) during the month of Ramadan in Lahore, Pakistan, on Tuesday. Muslims across the world are observing the holy fasting month of Ramadan, where they refrain from eating, drinking and smoking from dawn to dusk.

A Pakistani volunteer pours milk mixed with fruit juice for people gathered to break their day’s fast (16 hours long) during the month of Ramadan in Lahore, Pakistan, on Tuesday. Muslims across the world are observing the holy fasting month of Ramadan, where they refrain from eating, drinking and smoking from dawn to dusk.

K.M. CHAUDARY/AP

Not every fast during Ramadan is equal when it comes to the number of fasting hours. We take a look at cities around the world – and how Canadian cities compare to each other

Affan Chowdhry

This article was published more than 8 years ago. Some information may no longer be current.

With the Muslim month of Ramadan getting underway this week around the world, it is time to take stock: where is it hardest to abstain from food, drink and other pleasures from just before sunrise to sunset?

One measure is the number of fasting hours.

Just ask the newly minted mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, who described the prospect of nearly 19 hours of fasting while keeping up his mayoral duties as "scary."

"My diary is still full for Ramadan – we've got the EU referendum coming up and I could even have to open my fast on stage with a glass of water at an event," he wrote in a comment piece for The Guardian.

Temperate British summers may offer some solace to the Muslim faithful.

In New Delhi, daytime temperatures are punishing: easily passing 40 degrees Celsius around this time of year.

And for the Muslims who won the lottery – and reside in the southern hemisphere in countries like South Africa and Australia this Ramadan: no gloating.

The Islamic calendar follows the lunar calendar, which is 11 days shorter than the Gregorian calendar customarily followed around the world.

That means that the month of Ramadan starts 11 days earlier each year compared to the previous year.

In other words, 13 years from now, Muslims in Canada will be fasting in January, while those in the southern hemisphere will be fasting in their summer months.

Across Canada, there is also variation in terms of fasting hours given the differences in sunrise and sunset times.

In cases where the duration of fasting exceeds 20 hours, congregations will follow the Ramadan timetable of the nearest large city, which is why many Muslims in Yellowknife are fasting according to Edmonton fasting hours.

RamaDAN

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On Friday, politicians, celebrities and fans are gathering for a memorial service that the celebrated fighter, a convert to Islam, planned himself

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Canada’s geographic quirks pose challenges for fasting Muslims With Muslims expected to break their fast at sundown in Ramadan, what happens when there is perpetual daylight in a place like Inuvik?