Nautical time to the zero zone, and A–M (except J) to the east and N–Y to the west (J may be assigned to local time in non-nautical applications — zones M and Y have the same clock time but differ by 24 hours: a full day). These can be vocalized using the NATO phonetic alphabet which pronounces the letter "Z" as "Zulu", leading to the use of the term "Zulu Time" for Greenwich Mean Time, or UT1 from January 1, 1972 onward. Zone Z runs from 7°30′W to 7°30′E longitude, while zone A runs from 7°30′E to 22°30′E longitude, etc. These nautical
Thermal equator both "summer" and "winter." Chennai, India, at 13 degrees north is considered to lie on the thermal equator at its longitude (80 degrees east). Thermal equator The thermal equator (also known as "the heat equator") is a belt encircling the Earth, defined by the set of locations having the highest mean annual temperature at each longitude around the globe. Because local temperatures are sensitive to the geography of a region, mountain ranges and ocean currents ensure that smooth temperature gradients (such as might be found if the Earth were uniform in composition and devoid of surface irregularities) are impossible, the