Qibla · State of West Bengal
Qibla direction in Uluberiya
To face the Kaaba in Uluberiya, turn to 278.2° measured clockwise from true north, which is west (8.2° north of west). The Sacred Mosque in Mecca lies 4,958 km away along the shortest path over the globe, and this is the direction the mihrabs of the mosques in Uluberiya should follow.
Line up the top of your phone or compass with the green needle: it marks 278.2°, the Qibla of Uluberiya. Phone compasses usually display true north, so a reading of 278° is all you need; a needle compass reads magnetic north and needs the local declination added or subtracted first.
Find the Qibla with your phone
How to face the Qibla in Uluberiya
Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards west and move a further 8.2° towards north: the result is the bearing of 278.2°. A small error of a few degrees is forgiven by most scholars, but aiming simply at west would leave you about 8° off.
Facing the Qibla is a condition of the prayer. Whoever prays inside the Sacred Mosque faces the Kaaba itself; whoever is far away, as in Uluberiya, faces its direction and makes a sincere effort to be accurate. A nearby mosque is a handy reference, because its prayer rows were aligned when it was built. Once you know the direction at home, a discreet mark on the wall saves you from checking again.
Why a flat map shows a different direction
A straight line drawn on a flat (Mercator) map from Uluberiya to Mecca points to 268.7° (west), 9.6° away from the correct 278.2°. That map line is a rhumb line: it keeps the same compass heading all the way, but it is 22 km longer than the true shortest route. The Qibla follows the great circle, the shortest path on the curved Earth, which is why the bearing differs.
How is the figure of 278.2° obtained? From the coordinates of Uluberiya (22.4756° N, 88.0990° E) and of the Kaaba (21.4225° N, 39.8262° E), spherical trigonometry gives the starting bearing of the great circle joining them. Mosque architects and astronomical Qibla tables rely on exactly the same calculation.
Distance from Uluberiya to Mecca and Medina
Mecca is 4,958 km from Uluberiya as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 4,925 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 6 h 20 min, although most pilgrims from Uluberiya connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.
Clocks in Uluberiya run 2.5 hours ahead of Mecca all year. Prayer times, however, depend on the sun at your own location, so always use the prayer times of Uluberiya rather than those of Mecca.
Finding the Qibla with the sun in Uluberiya
On 140 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Uluberiya while it is well above the horizon. At that moment, facing the sun means facing Mecca. The effect is most frequent in May (31 days); for example, on 15 April 2027 it happens at 17:29 local time.
On 183 days the sun stands exactly opposite the Qibla: then the shadow of any vertical object, a pole, a door frame or a plumb line, points straight towards Mecca. This is most frequent in May (31 days), for instance on 15 March 2027 at 06:49.
| Date | Sun in the Qibla direction (face the sun) | Sun opposite (shadows point to the Qibla) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 January 2027 | — | — |
| 15 January 2027 | — | — |
| 1 February 2027 | — | — |
| 15 February 2027 | — | — |
| 1 March 2027 | — | — |
| 15 March 2027 | — | 06:49 |
| 1 April 2027 | — | 07:45 |
| 15 April 2027 | 17:29 | 08:31 |
| 1 May 2027 | 16:28 | 09:27 |
| 15 May 2027 | 15:35 | 10:18 |
| 1 June 2027 | 14:33 | 11:23 |
| 15 June 2027 | 12:08 | — |
| 1 July 2027 | 12:03 | — |
| 15 July 2027 | 14:54 | 11:19 |
| 1 August 2027 | 15:58 | 10:17 |
| 15 August 2027 | 16:48 | 09:24 |
| 1 September 2027 | — | 08:19 |
| 15 September 2027 | — | 07:25 |
| 1 October 2027 | — | 06:23 |
| 15 October 2027 | — | — |
| 1 November 2027 | — | — |
| 15 November 2027 | — | — |
| 1 December 2027 | — | — |
| 15 December 2027 | — | — |
Twice a year the sun passes directly over the Kaaba, on 28 May 2027 and 16 July 2027. Both moments are in daylight in Uluberiya: at 14:48 and 14:57 local time, face the sun and you face the Qibla exactly, anywhere in the city.
Uluberiya compared with other cities
Compared with New Delhi, 1,287 km away, the Qibla in Uluberiya is turned 11.7° further clockwise (278.2° against 266.6°), and Mecca is 1,123 km farther away. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Kolkata (29 km), prays towards 278.2°, the same bearing to the tenth of a degree.
Across the 442 cities in India on this site, the Qibla ranges from 256.8° in Srinagar to 294.3° in Nagercoil, a spread of 37.5°. That is too large to use one national direction, so each city has its own bearing.
See all cities on the Qibla page for India.
Qibla in cities near Uluberiya
Qibla in Uluberiya: questions and answers
What is the Qibla direction in Uluberiya?
It is 278.2° from true north, which is west: 8.2° north of west.
How far is Uluberiya from Mecca?
4,958 km in a straight line over the globe, and 4,925 km to Medina.
When does the sun show the Qibla in Uluberiya?
On 140 days of 2027 the sun stands in the Qibla direction; the table on this page gives the exact time for the 1st and 15th of each month.
Why is the Qibla in Uluberiya not the direction shown on a map?
Flat maps distort directions. The line on a map points to 268.7°, but the shortest route on the globe leaves Uluberiya at 278.2°, and that is the Qibla.
Does the Qibla change during the year?
No. The direction of 278.2° is fixed; only the times when the sun lines up with it change from day to day.