1568. Minimum Number of Days to Disconnect Island LeetCode Solution
In this guide, you will get 1568. Minimum Number of Days to Disconnect Island LeetCode Solution with the best time and space complexity. The solution to Minimum Number of Days to Disconnect Island problem is provided in various programming languages like C++, Java, and Python. This will be helpful for you if you are preparing for placements, hackathons, interviews, or practice purposes. The solutions provided here are very easy to follow and include detailed explanations.
Table of Contents
- Problem Statement
- Complexity Analysis
- Minimum Number of Days to Disconnect Island solution in C++
- Minimum Number of Days to Disconnect Island solution in Java
- Minimum Number of Days to Disconnect Island solution in Python
- Additional Resources

Problem Statement of Minimum Number of Days to Disconnect Island
You are given an m x n binary grid grid where 1 represents land and 0 represents water. An island is a maximal 4-directionally (horizontal or vertical) connected group of 1’s.
The grid is said to be connected if we have exactly one island, otherwise is said disconnected.
In one day, we are allowed to change any single land cell (1) into a water cell (0).
Return the minimum number of days to disconnect the grid.
Example 1:
Input: grid = [[0,1,1,0],[0,1,1,0],[0,0,0,0]]
Output: 2
Explanation: We need at least 2 days to get a disconnected grid.
Change land grid[1][1] and grid[0][2] to water and get 2 disconnected island.
Example 2:
Input: grid = [[1,1]]
Output: 2
Explanation: Grid of full water is also disconnected ([[1,1]] -> [[0,0]]), 0 islands.
Constraints:
m == grid.length
n == grid[i].length
1 <= m, n <= 30
grid[i][j] is either 0 or 1.
Complexity Analysis
- Time Complexity: O((mn)^2)
- Space Complexity: O(mn)
1568. Minimum Number of Days to Disconnect Island LeetCode Solution in C++
class Solution {
public:
int minDays(vector<vector<int>>& grid) {
if (disconnected(grid))
return 0;
// Try to remove 1 land.
for (int i = 0; i < grid.size(); ++i)
for (int j = 0; j < grid[0].size(); ++j)
if (grid[i][j] == 1) {
grid[i][j] = 0;
if (disconnected(grid))
return 1;
grid[i][j] = 1;
}
// Remove 2 lands.
return 2;
}
private:
static constexpr int dirs[4][2] = {{0, 1}, {1, 0}, {0, -1}, {-1, 0}};
bool disconnected(const vector<vector<int>>& grid) {
int islandsCount = 0;
vector<vector<bool>> seen(grid.size(), vector<bool>(grid[0].size()));
for (int i = 0; i < grid.size(); ++i)
for (int j = 0; j < grid[0].size(); ++j) {
if (grid[i][j] == 0 || seen[i][j])
continue;
if (++islandsCount > 1)
return true;
dfs(grid, i, j, seen);
}
return islandsCount != 1;
}
void dfs(const vector<vector<int>>& grid, int i, int j,
vector<vector<bool>>& seen) {
seen[i][j] = true;
for (const auto& [dx, dy] : dirs) {
const int x = i + dx;
const int y = j + dy;
if (x < 0 || x == grid.size() || y < 0 || y == grid[0].size())
continue;
if (grid[x][y] == 0 || seen[x][y])
continue;
dfs(grid, x, y, seen);
}
}
};
/* code provided by PROGIEZ */
1568. Minimum Number of Days to Disconnect Island LeetCode Solution in Java
class Solution {
public int minDays(int[][] grid) {
if (disconnected(grid))
return 0;
// Try to remove 1 land.
for (int i = 0; i < grid.length; ++i)
for (int j = 0; j < grid[0].length; ++j)
if (grid[i][j] == 1) {
grid[i][j] = 0;
if (disconnected(grid))
return 1;
grid[i][j] = 1;
}
// Remove 2 lands.
return 2;
}
private final int[][] dirs = {{0, 1}, {1, 0}, {0, -1}, {-1, 0}};
private boolean disconnected(int[][] grid) {
int islandsCount = 0;
boolean[][] seen = new boolean[grid.length][grid[0].length];
for (int i = 0; i < grid.length; ++i)
for (int j = 0; j < grid[0].length; ++j) {
if (grid[i][j] == 0 || seen[i][j])
continue;
if (++islandsCount > 1)
return true;
dfs(grid, i, j, seen);
}
return islandsCount != 1;
}
private void dfs(int[][] grid, int i, int j, boolean[][] seen) {
seen[i][j] = true;
for (int[] dir : dirs) {
int x = i + dir[0];
int y = j + dir[1];
if (x < 0 || x == grid.length || y < 0 || y == grid[0].length)
continue;
if (grid[x][y] == 0 || seen[x][y])
continue;
dfs(grid, x, y, seen);
}
}
}
// code provided by PROGIEZ
1568. Minimum Number of Days to Disconnect Island LeetCode Solution in Python
class Solution:
def minDays(self, grid: list[list[int]]) -> int:
dirs = ((0, 1), (1, 0), (0, -1), (-1, 0))
m = len(grid)
n = len(grid[0])
def dfs(grid: list[list[int]], i: int, j: int, seen: set[tuple[int, int]]):
seen.add((i, j))
for dx, dy in dirs:
x = i + dx
y = j + dy
if x < 0 or x == m or y < 0 or y == n:
continue
if grid[x][y] == 0 or (x, y) in seen:
continue
dfs(grid, x, y, seen)
def disconnected(grid: list[list[int]]) -> bool:
islandsCount = 0
seen = set()
for i in range(m):
for j in range(n):
if grid[i][j] == 0 or (i, j) in seen:
continue
if islandsCount > 1:
return True
islandsCount += 1
dfs(grid, i, j, seen)
return islandsCount != 1
if disconnected(grid):
return 0
# Try to remove 1 land.
for i in range(m):
for j in range(n):
if grid[i][j] == 1:
grid[i][j] = 0
if disconnected(grid):
return 1
grid[i][j] = 1
# Remove 2 lands.
return 2
# code by PROGIEZ
Additional Resources
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- Explore all problems on LeetCode website here
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