Why some residents in Dubai will fast longer than others

Dubai: Muslims in Dubai will be fasting for 14 hours and 39 minutes on the first day of Ramadan.

But those living between the 80 and 120 floors will have two more minutes before sunset.

This is due to the fact that the higher the altitude – the earlier the Sun rises and the later it would set, which also applies to skyscrapers that tower across the emirates.

Neil deGrasse Tyson, American physicist and director of the Hayden Planetarium, also pointed out the change of time between the top and bottom of the Burj Khalifa.

In a tweet, Tyson said: “During Ramadan, daytime fasting for Muslims ends at sunset. But for Dubai’s Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world, the Sun sets four minutes later at the top than at the bottom. High-floor dwellers see beyond the ground-level horizon, farther along Earth’s curvature.”

“We’re looking at the horizon at sea level, which will be measured at a standard time,” Hassan Al Hariri, chief executive officer of Dubai Astronomy Group told Gulf News.

“If I go on top of a mountain, then definitely the sun will be seen later because of the higher altitude. The same applies to the equator of time. The higher north you go, the length of the day is longer during the summer months,” he explained.

Approximately, the sun sets one minute later for every 1.5 kilometres gained in altitude. So residents who live on the 121th floor or higher will have to fast an additional four minutes as fajr prayer will start earlier and iftar will be later than on the normal ground level.

The world’s tallest tower – the Burj Khalifa – stands at a total height of 828 metres. The Burj is also known for having the highest occupied floor in the world at 585 metres, which is 163 floors.

“But there are not that many buildings in the UAE that are 80-storeys high, and even then, there are not that much occupancy available. People should not worry about it,” said Al Hariri.