Time Zone Converter
Convert times between world time zones, compare UTC offsets, and handle daylight saving transitions without guessing from memory.
The exact conversion is calculated in your browser for the date you choose. Compatible browsers load the full IANA time zone list; the fallback list still covers the most common zones.
Live Result
Choose a date, time, and two time zones to calculate the exact local result.
The converter accounts for daylight saving changes, duplicated times, and nonexistent local times for the date you enter.
How to Use It
- Enter the local date and time that exists in the source time zone.
- Choose the source zone and the destination zone.
- Check the converted time, date, and offset details below the form.
Why Results Change
- Some regions switch in and out of daylight saving time.
- Some time zones use half-hour or quarter-hour offsets.
- Governments can change time zone rules, so the selected date matters.
What This Page Uses
This converter relies on the browser's internationalization support and the IANA time zone database to apply the correct local rule for the chosen date instead of guessing from today's offset.
Popular Time Zones
These city cards are rendered in the HTML immediately, and the current local times update in your browser every second.
New York
Eastern Time with daylight saving time.
Current time loads on page open
America/New_York
Los Angeles
Pacific Time with daylight saving time.
Current time loads on page open
America/Los_Angeles
Chicago
Central Time with daylight saving time.
Current time loads on page open
America/Chicago
London
GMT in winter and BST in summer.
Current time loads on page open
Europe/London
Paris
Central European Time with DST changes.
Current time loads on page open
Europe/Paris
Tokyo
Japan Standard Time, no daylight saving time.
Current time loads on page open
Asia/Tokyo
Shanghai
China Standard Time, no daylight saving time.
Current time loads on page open
Asia/Shanghai
Dubai
Gulf Standard Time, no daylight saving time.
Current time loads on page open
Asia/Dubai
Sydney
Australian Eastern Time with seasonal changes.
Current time loads on page open
Australia/Sydney
Auckland
New Zealand time with daylight saving time.
Current time loads on page open
Pacific/Auckland
Reference Time Zones
UTC
UTC
The baseline time standard. No daylight saving time.
US Eastern Time
America/New_York
Common for New York, Toronto, and many North American business hours.
UK Time
Europe/London
Switches between GMT and BST depending on the date.
Central Europe
Europe/Paris
Representative for CET and CEST scheduling across much of Europe.
India Standard Time
Asia/Kolkata
UTC+05:30. No daylight saving time.
Japan Standard Time
Asia/Tokyo
UTC+09:00. No daylight saving time.
Understanding UTC (Coordinated Universal Time)
UTC, or Coordinated Universal Time, is the primary international reference time scale used to regulate clocks and time. It serves as the baseline for time-zone offsets around the world. Unlike local time, UTC does not observe daylight saving time, which makes it a stable reference for international scheduling and technical systems.
Every time zone in the world is defined as an offset from UTC. For example, Eastern Standard Time is UTC-5, meaning it is five hours behind UTC. When coordinating across time zones, converting to and from UTC is often the simplest approach because it avoids the confusion that can come from regional clock changes.
This converter uses UTC as the internal reference point for every calculation. When you choose a source zone and a destination zone, the page resolves the selected local time in the source zone first and then converts that exact instant into the destination zone. If you want the deeper historical and practical distinction, read UTC vs GMT: What’s the Difference and Which Should You Use?.
Daylight Saving Time (DST) Explained
Daylight saving time is the practice of shifting clocks forward during part of the year so evening daylight lasts longer. Not all countries observe DST, and the dates when clocks change vary by region. That means the difference between two cities can change for part of the year even when both cities normally feel familiar.
DST creates two especially important edge cases. When clocks move forward, some local times never happen at all. When clocks move back, one local hour happens twice. This page handles both cases explicitly instead of silently guessing.
Many regions, including Japan, India, China, and most of the Gulf states, do not observe daylight saving time. In those zones the UTC offset stays stable year-round, which makes cross-region planning simpler.
How Time Zone Offsets Work
A time zone offset is the difference between a local zone and UTC. Offsets range from UTC-12:00 to UTC+14:00. Most zones use whole hours, but several use half-hour or quarter-hour offsets. India uses UTC+5:30, Nepal uses UTC+5:45, and some Australian zones use half-hour offsets as well.
If you try to convert times manually, you can easily get the wrong result near DST transitions or when a region uses a nonstandard offset. That is why a proper converter should always apply the rule for the exact date involved, not the offset that happens to be active today.
The IANA time zone database, exposed through browser internationalization APIs, contains the historical and current rules for the zones supported by your browser. That lets this page apply the right offset for the chosen date rather than relying on a simplistic fixed-hour difference.