Karwa Chauth 2026 falls on Thursday, 29 October 2026. In Dubai the moon rises at 08:29 PM, the puja muhurat runs 05:41 PM to 06:57 PM, and the fast is kept from 06:25 AM to 08:29 PM, fourteen hours and four minutes.
Those three timings are the whole day. Everything else follows from them.
All timings on this page are calculated for Dubai in Gulf Standard Time, which matters more on this festival than almost any other, because the moon does not rise in Dubai at the same time it rises in Delhi.
Karwa Chauth 2026 timings for the UAE
| Observance | Date and Time (Dubai) |
| Karwa Chauth 2026 | Thursday, 29 October 2026 |
| Moonrise | 08:29 PM |
| Puja Muhurat | 05:41 PM to 06:57 PM (1 hour 16 minutes) |
| Fast (Upavasa) period | 06:25 AM to 08:29 PM (14 hours 4 minutes) |
| Sunrise | 06:25 AM |
| Sunset | 05:39 PM |
| Chaturthi Tithi Begins | 11:36 PM, 28 October 2026 |
| Chaturthi Tithi Ends | 08:39 PM, 29 October 2026 |
Note how tight the ending is. The Chaturthi tithi ends at 08:39 PM and the moon rises at 08:29 PM, leaving a ten-minute overlap. Sight the moon promptly.
Moonrise, puja window and fast timings, all calculated for Dubai rather than IST.
What Karwa Chauth Is
A nirjala vrat, a fast without food or water, kept from sunrise until the moon is sighted. It falls on the Kartika Krishna Chaturthi, four days after the full moon and nine days before Diwali.
It is kept by married women for their husbands' long life, and it is worth saying plainly that it is increasingly kept by both people together. Plenty of couples in the UAE fast side by side, and nothing in the tradition forbids it.
The karwa itself is the small clay or metal pot with a spout that gives the day its name. Water is poured from it as arghya to the moon, and the pots are exchanged between women at the evening gathering.
Vakratunda Sankashti Chaturthi falls on the same day, so Ganesha is honoured alongside the vrat. Chaturthi belongs to him regardless of what else the day carries.
The Day, Hour by Hour
- Before 06:25 AM: sargi. The pre-dawn meal, traditionally sent by the mother-in-law. Fruit, dry fruits, a sweet, and something with slow-release energy. Drink water properly now, because none follows for fourteen hours.
- Morning: bathe, wear red or maroon, and put on the solah shringar if you keep it. Mehendi is usually done the evening before.
- Through the day: the fast. Rest where you can.
- 05:41 PM to 06:57 PM: the puja. This is the muhurat. Set the thali, do the katha, and pass the thalis in a circle if you are with a group.
- 08:29 PM: moonrise. Sight the moon through a sieve, offer arghya with water from the karwa, then look at your husband through the same sieve.
- Break the fast with water and a sweet from his hand.
The Puja Vidhi
- Clean the puja space and set a chowki with a red cloth.
- Place the Karwa Mata image, or Gauri and Ganesha, at the centre. Many families make a small Gauri from clean clay or turmeric.
- Fill the karwa with water and cover its mouth. Keep a second one of rice or wheat if that is your family practice.
- Light the diya and offer roli, akshat, flowers, sweets and fruit.
- Begin with Ganesha, then Gauri, then Shiva and Kartikeya. Chaturthi is Ganesha's tithi.
- Read the katha during the muhurat window. The usual one is the story of Veeravati, whose brothers could not bear to watch her fast and tricked her into breaking it early, with consequences she then had to undo.
- If you are in a group, pass the thalis around in a circle, seven times, singing the traditional lines between passes.
- At moonrise: hold the sieve up, see the moon through it, pour arghya from the karwa, then turn and see your husband through the sieve.
- He offers the first sip of water and the first bite.
- Baya or bayana, a plate of sweets, dry fruit and a gift, is given to the mother-in-law or an elder afterwards.
Everything for the vrat in one box
The samagri, the shringar and the chunri, ready before the 29th.
What You Need
- A karwa, the clay or metal pot with a spout
- A chalni, the sieve, and this is the one item people forget
- A Karwa Mata image or a Gauri and Ganesha set
- Diya, ghee, cotton wicks and camphor
- Roli, akshat, chandan, kumkum and sindoor
- Red or maroon chunri for the chowki
- Sixteen shringar items if you keep the full set
- Fruit, sweets, dry fruit for the sargi and the baya
- Mehendi, usually applied the evening before
For the thali and the moonrise
A thali to pass, diyas for the circle, and chandan for the tilak.
Karwa Chauth in the UAE
The moonrise time is the single most important thing on this page, and it is the thing most people here get wrong. Dubai moonrise on 29 October 2026 is 08:29 PM. Delhi is roughly an hour and a half behind in clock terms but the moon also rises at a different local time, so an Indian app can be well over an hour out. Families here regularly sit waiting past nine because they were given a Delhi time.
29 October is a Thursday, a working day. The fourteen-hour fast runs straight through the office day, and the puja muhurat at 05:41 PM is comfortably after most people finish. That works, but it means the sargi at 06:00 AM is happening before a full working day, so eat properly.
High-rise living helps here. An apartment on a decent floor with an east-facing window will catch the moon at 08:29 PM without anyone going downstairs. If your view faces west, plan to go to the terrace or a park. Check the sightline a night or two before, not on the day.
October humidity and a nirjala fast do not mix well. Late October in the Emirates still runs warm. Keep out of the sun, stay in air conditioning through the afternoon, and take the sargi hydration seriously. Anyone pregnant, unwell, diabetic or on regular medication should speak to their doctor before keeping a waterless fast, and a phalahar fast with water is an accepted alternative.
Order by 25 October. Karwa Chauth on the 29th sits nine days before Diwali on 8 November, which is the heaviest delivery fortnight of the year across all seven Emirates. Karwas and sieves in particular are seasonal lines that clear.
Community gatherings across Dubai, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi and Ajman are covered in our Karwa Chauth events guide for the UAE. Mehendi is usually booked out for the evening of the 28th, so arrange it early. Our note on the significance of mehendi covers why it belongs to the day.
Frequently asked questions
What time is Karwa Chauth moonrise in Dubai in 2026?
08:29 PM on Thursday 29 October 2026. That is the Dubai time. Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and Ajman are within a couple of minutes of it. Indian moonrise times are not usable here and can be over an hour out.
What is the Karwa Chauth puja muhurat for 2026?
05:41 PM to 06:57 PM in Dubai, a window of one hour sixteen minutes. The katha and the thali ceremony belong in that window; the arghya waits for moonrise at 08:29 PM.
How long is the fast?
Fourteen hours and four minutes in 2026, from sunrise at 06:25 AM to moonrise at 08:29 PM. It is traditionally nirjala, without food or water.
Can I keep the fast with water?
Yes. A phalahar fast with water and fruit is widely accepted, and is the sensible choice in UAE heat or if you have any health condition. The intention carries the vrat, not the severity. Anyone pregnant, diabetic or on medication should speak to their doctor first.
What if the sky is cloudy and I cannot see the moon?
Wait a little; late October in the Emirates is usually clear. If it stays hidden, the accepted practice is to offer arghya in the direction of the moon at the known moonrise time and break the fast. Some families use a live moonrise feed for confirmation.
Why is the moon seen through a sieve?
The sieve breaks the moon into many points of light, and the husband is then seen through the same mesh. The usual explanation is that it filters the gaze, so the vision of the moon and of him arrive together and softened.
Can husbands keep the fast too?
Yes, and many couples in the UAE now do it together. Nothing in the vrat forbids it, and the katha is about devotion rather than about who does the fasting.
What is sargi and who gives it?
The pre-dawn meal eaten before 06:25 AM, traditionally sent by the mother-in-law. Fruit, dry fruits, a sweet and plenty of water. Where there is no mother-in-law nearby, families here simply prepare it themselves or send it between friends.
Bringing it home
Three numbers for Thursday 29 October: sargi before 06:25 AM, puja between 05:41 PM and 06:57 PM, moon at 08:29 PM. Have the sieve out before the evening starts.
Ahoi Ashtami follows on 1 November, and Diwali on 8 November. Both, and the rest of the season, are on our Hindu Festival and Tithi Calendar for the UAE.
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