Antipode of India

All of the India Antipodal Points are in the Ocean

Every antipodal point for locations across the Indian subcontinent falls in the South Pacific Ocean. When the outline of India is inverted through the Earth's center it overlays the open ocean west of South America — the inset map shows India flipped and positioned near the coasts of Peru and Chile. While some antipodal points may come close to coastal waters or small offshore islands, there are no direct land-to-land antipodes for mainland India. This is a simple consequence of how latitude and longitude invert (latitudes swap north/south and longitudes shift by 180°), combined with the fact that more than 70% of the Earth's surface is ocean.

What is an Antipode?

An antipode refers to a point on the Earth's surface that is diametrically opposite to another point. Simply put, if you were to draw a straight line from one point on the Earth's surface, through the center of the Earth, to the other side, you would reach the antipode of the original point.

How is an Antipode Calculated?

To calculate the antipode of a given location, a few simple steps are involved:

1. For the latitude, simply invert the sign. For example, the antipode of 45° N will be 45° S.
2. For the longitude, subtract the longitude from 180° and invert the direction (E becomes W or W becomes E). For example, the antipode of 75° W will be 105° E.

The antipodal point is theoretically precise; however, since the Earth is not a perfect sphere but rather an oblate spheroid, real-world calculations involve geospatial techniques that take into account variations in terrain and the Earth's ellipsoid shape. Additionally, antipodal points are mostly located in the oceans, as water covers more than 70% of the Earth's surface.

Click here to read more about antipodes.

Frequently Asked Questions

What part of the world is opposite of India?

All points lie in the Pacific Ocean off of the west coast of South America.