A time zone is an area which observes a uniform standard time for legal, commercial and social purposes. Time zones tend to follow the boundaries between countries and their subdivisions instead of strictly following longitude, because it is convenient for areas in frequent communication to keep the same time.
All time zones are defined as offsets from Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), ranging from UTC−12:00 to UTC+14:00. The offsets are usually a whole number of hours, but a few zones are offset by an additional 30 or 45 minutes, such as in India, South Australia and Nepal.
Some areas of higher latitude use daylight saving time for about half of the year, typically by adding one hour to local time during spring and summer.
List of UTC offsets[edit]
In the table below, the locations that use daylight saving time (DST) are listed in their UTC offset when DST is not in effect. When DST is in effect, approximately during spring and summer, their UTC offset is increased by one hour (except for Lord Howe Island, where it is increased by 30 minutes). For example, during the DST period California observes UTC−07:00 and the United Kingdom observes UTC+01:00.
| UTC offset | Locations that do not use DST | Locations that use DST | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UTC−12:00 |
| |||
| UTC−11:00 |
| |||
| UTC−10:00 |
|  United States: Andreanof Islands, Islands of Four Mountains, Near Islands, Rat Islands (Aleutian Islands, Alaska) | ||
| UTC−09:30 |  French Polynesia: Marquesas Islands | |||
| UTC−09:00 | French Polynesia: Gambier Islands | United States: Alaska (most) | ||
| UTC−08:00 |  Clipperton Island Pitcairn Islands |
| ||
| UTC−07:00 |  Canada: British Columbia (northeast), Yukon Mexico: Baja California Sur, Nayarit (most), Sinaloa, Sonora United States: Arizona (most) | Canada: Alberta, British Columbia (southeast), Northwest Territories, Nunavut (west) Mexico: Chihuahua (northwest border) United States: Colorado, Idaho (most), Montana, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming | ||
| UTC−06:00 |
|
| ||
| UTC−05:00 |
|
| ||
| UTC−04:00 |
|  Bermuda Canada: Labrador (most), New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island Chile (most) Greenland: Thule Air Base Paraguay | ||
| UTC−03:30 | Canada: Newfoundland, Labrador (southeast) | |||
| UTC−03:00 |
| Greenland (most) Saint Pierre and Miquelon | ||
| UTC−02:00 |  Brazil: Fernando de Noronha South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands | |||
| UTC−01:00 |  Cape Verde |
| ||
| UTC±00:00 |
|  Faroe Islands Guernsey Ireland Isle of Man Jersey Portugal (most) Spain: Canary Islands United Kingdom | ||
| UTC+01:00 |
|
| ||
| UTC+02:00 |
|
| ||
| UTC+03:00 |
| |||
| UTC+03:30 |  Iran | |||
| UTC+04:00 |
| |||
| UTC+04:30 |  Afghanistan | |||
| UTC+05:00 |
| |||
| UTC+05:30 |
| |||
| UTC+05:45 |  Nepal | |||
| UTC+06:00 |
| |||
| UTC+06:30 |
| |||
| UTC+07:00 |
| |||
| UTC+08:00 |
| |||
| UTC+08:45 |  Australia: Eucla | |||
| UTC+09:00 |
| |||
| UTC+09:30 | Australia: Northern Territory | Australia: South Australia | ||
| UTC+10:00 |
| Australia: Australian Capital Territory, Jervis Bay Territory, New South Wales (most), Tasmania, Victoria | ||
| UTC+10:30 | Australia: Lord Howe Island | |||
| UTC+11:00 |
|  Norfolk Island | ||
| UTC+12:00 |
|  New Zealand (most) | ||
| UTC+12:45 | New Zealand: Chatham Islands | |||
| UTC+13:00 |
| |||
| UTC+14:00 |  Kiribati: Line Islands |
- ^ a b Observes UTC±00:00 around Ramadan.[1][2][3]
History[edit]
The apparent position of the Sun in the sky, and thus solar time, varies by location due to the spherical shape of the Earth. This variation corresponds to four minutes of time for every degree of longitude, so for example when it is solar noon in London, it is about 10 minutes before solar noon in Bristol, which is about 2.5 degrees to the west.[5]
The Royal Observatory, Greenwich, founded in 1675, established Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), the mean solar time at that location, as an aid to mariners to determine longitude at sea, providing a standard reference time while each location in England kept a different time.
Railway time[edit]
Plaque commemorating the Railway General Time Convention of 1883 in North America
In the 19th century, as transportation and telecommunications improved, it became increasingly inconvenient for each location to observe its own solar time. In November 1840, the Great Western Railway started using GMT kept by portable chronometers.[6] This practice was soon followed by other railway companies in Great Britain and became known as Railway Time.
Around August 23, 1852, time signals were first transmitted by telegraph from the Royal Observatory. By 1855, 98% of Great Britain’s public clocks were using GMT, but it was not made the island’s legal time until August 2, 1880. Some British clocks from this period have two minute hands, one for the local time and one for GMT.[7]
On November 2, 1868, the then British Colony of New Zealand officially adopted a standard time to be observed throughout the colony.[8] It was based on longitude 172°30′ east of Greenwich, that is 11 hours 30 minutes ahead of GMT. This standard was known as New Zealand Mean Time.[9]
Timekeeping on North American railroads in the 19th century was complex. Each railroad used its own standard time, usually based on the local time of its headquarters or most important terminus, and the railroad’s train schedules were published using its own time. Some junctions served by several railroads had a clock for each railroad, each showing a different time.[10]
1913 time zone map of the United States, showing boundaries very different from today
Charles F. Dowd proposed a system of hourly standard time zones for North American railroads around 1863, although he published nothing on the matter at that time and did not consult railroad officials until 1869. In 1870 he proposed four ideal time zones having north–south borders, the first centered on Washington, D.C., but by 1872 the first was centered on meridian 75° west of Greenwich, with natural borders such as sections of the Appalachian Mountains. Dowd’s system was never accepted by North American railroads. Instead, U.S. and Canadian railroads implemented a version proposed by William F. Allen, the editor of the Traveler’s Official Railway Guide.[11] The borders of its time zones ran through railroad stations, often in major cities. For example, the border between its Eastern and Central time zones ran through Detroit, Buffalo, Pittsburgh, Atlanta, and Charleston. It was inaugurated on Sunday, November 18, 1883, also called «The Day of Two Noons»,[12] when each railroad station clock was reset as standard-time noon was reached within each time zone.
The North American zones were named Intercolonial, Eastern, Central, Mountain, and Pacific. Within a year 85% of all cities with populations over 10,000 (about 200 cities) were using standard time.[13] A notable exception was Detroit (located about halfway between the meridians of Eastern and Central time), which kept local time until 1900, then tried Central Standard Time, local mean time, and Eastern Standard Time (EST) before a May 1915 ordinance settled on EST and was ratified by popular vote in August 1916. The confusion of times came to an end when standard time zones were formally adopted by the U.S. Congress in the Standard Time Act of March 19, 1918.
Worldwide time zones[edit]
Italian mathematician Quirico Filopanti introduced the idea of a worldwide system of time zones in his book Miranda!, published in 1858. He proposed 24 hourly time zones, which he called «longitudinal days», the first centred on the meridian of Rome. He also proposed a universal time to be used in astronomy and telegraphy. However, his book attracted no attention until long after his death.[14][15]
Scottish-born Canadian Sir Sandford Fleming proposed a worldwide system of time zones in 1876 — see Sandford Fleming § Inventor of worldwide standard time. The proposal divided the world into twenty-four time zones labeled A-Y (skipping J), each one covering 15 degrees of longitude. All clocks within each zone would be set to the same time as the others, but differed by one hour from those in the neighboring zones.[16] He advocated his system at several international conferences, including the International Meridian Conference, where it received some consideration. The system has not been directly adopted, but some maps divide the world into 24 time zones and assign letters to them, similarly to Fleming’s system.[17]
World map of time zones in 1928
By about 1900, almost all inhabited places on Earth had adopted a standard time zone, but only some of them used an hourly offset from GMT. Many applied the time at a local astronomical observatory to an entire country, without any reference to GMT. It took many decades before all time zones were based on some standard offset from GMT or Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). By 1929, the majority of countries had adopted hourly time zones, though some countries such as Iran, India, Myanmar and parts of Australia had time zones with a 30-minute offset. Nepal was the last country to adopt a standard offset, shifting slightly to UTC+05:45 in 1986.[18]
All nations currently use standard time zones for secular purposes, but not all of them apply the concept as originally conceived. Several countries and subdivisions use half-hour or quarter-hour deviations from standard time. Some countries, such as China and India, use a single time zone even though the extent of their territory far exceeds the ideal 15° of longitude for one hour; other countries, such as Spain and Argentina, use standard hour-based offsets, but not necessarily those that would be determined by their geographical location. The consequences, in some areas, can affect the lives of local citizens, and in extreme cases contribute to larger political issues, such as in the western reaches of China.[19] In Russia, which has 11 time zones, two time zones were removed in 2010[20][21] and reinstated in 2014.[22]
Notation[edit]
ISO 8601[edit]
ISO 8601 is a standard established by the International Organization for Standardization defining methods of representing dates and times in textual form, including specifications for representing time zones.[23]
If a time is in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), a «Z» is added directly after the time without a separating space. «Z» is the zone designator for the zero UTC offset. «09:30 UTC» is therefore represented as «09:30Z» or «0930Z». Likewise, «14:45:15 UTC» is written as «14:45:15Z» or «144515Z».[24] UTC time is also known as «Zulu» time, since «Zulu» is a phonetic alphabet code word for the letter «Z».[24]
Offsets from UTC are written in the format ±hh:mm, ±hhmm, or ±hh (either hours ahead or behind UTC). For example, if the time being described is one hour ahead of UTC (such as the time in Germany during the winter), the zone designator would be «+01:00», «+0100», or simply «+01». This numeric representation of time zones is appended to local times in the same way that alphabetic time zone abbreviations (or «Z», as above) are appended. The offset from UTC changes with daylight saving time, e.g. a time offset in Chicago, which is in the North American Central Time Zone, is «−06:00» for the winter (Central Standard Time) and «−05:00» for the summer (Central Daylight Time).[25]
Abbreviations[edit]
Time zones are often represented by alphabetic abbreviations such as «EST», «WST», and «CST», but these are not part of the international time and date standard ISO 8601. Such designations can be ambiguous; for example, «CST» can mean (North American) Central Standard Time (UTC−06:00), Cuba Standard Time (UTC−05:00) and China Standard Time (UTC+08:00), and it is also a widely used variant of ACST (Australian Central Standard Time, UTC+09:30).[26]
Conversions[edit]
Conversion between time zones obeys the relationship
- «time in zone A» − «UTC offset for zone A» = «time in zone B» − «UTC offset for zone B»,
in which each side of the equation is equivalent to UTC.
The conversion equation can be rearranged to
- «time in zone B» = «time in zone A» − «UTC offset for zone A» + «UTC offset for zone B».
For example, the New York Stock Exchange opens at 09:30 (EST, UTC offset= −05:00). In California (PST, UTC offset= −08:00) and India (IST, UTC offset= +05:30), the New York Stock Exchange opens at
- time in California = 09:30 − (−05:00) + (−08:00) = 06:30;
- time in India = 09:30 − (−05:00) + (+05:30) = 20:00.
These calculations become more complicated near the time switch to or from daylight saving time, as the UTC offset for the area becomes a function of UTC time.
The time differences may also result in different dates. For example, when it is 22:00 on Monday in Egypt (UTC+02:00), it is 01:00 on Tuesday in Pakistan (UTC+05:00).
The table «Time of day by zone» gives an overview on the time relations between different zones.
| Time of day by zone | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UTC offset | Monday | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| UTC−12:00 | 00:00 | 01:00 | 02:00 | 03:00 | 04:00 | 05:00 | 06:00 | 07:00 | 08:00 | 09:00 | 10:00 | 11:00 | 12:00 | 13:00 | 14:00 | 15:00 | 16:00 | 17:00 | 18:00 | 19:00 | 20:00 | 21:00 | 22:00 | 23:00 |
| UTC−11:00 | 01:00 | 02:00 | 03:00 | 04:00 | 05:00 | 06:00 | 07:00 | 08:00 | 09:00 | 10:00 | 11:00 | 12:00 | 13:00 | 14:00 | 15:00 | 16:00 | 17:00 | 18:00 | 19:00 | 20:00 | 21:00 | 22:00 | 23:00 | 00:00 |
| UTC−10:00 | 02:00 | 03:00 | 04:00 | 05:00 | 06:00 | 07:00 | 08:00 | 09:00 | 10:00 | 11:00 | 12:00 | 13:00 | 14:00 | 15:00 | 16:00 | 17:00 | 18:00 | 19:00 | 20:00 | 21:00 | 22:00 | 23:00 | 00:00 | 01:00 |
| UTC−09:30 | 02:30 | 03:30 | 04:30 | 05:30 | 06:30 | 07:30 | 08:30 | 09:30 | 10:30 | 11:30 | 12:30 | 13:30 | 14:30 | 15:30 | 16:30 | 17:30 | 18:30 | 19:30 | 20:30 | 21:30 | 22:30 | 23:30 | 00:30 | 01:30 |
| UTC−09:00 | 03:00 | 04:00 | 05:00 | 06:00 | 07:00 | 08:00 | 09:00 | 10:00 | 11:00 | 12:00 | 13:00 | 14:00 | 15:00 | 16:00 | 17:00 | 18:00 | 19:00 | 20:00 | 21:00 | 22:00 | 23:00 | 00:00 | 01:00 | 02:00 |
| UTC−08:00 | 04:00 | 05:00 | 06:00 | 07:00 | 08:00 | 09:00 | 10:00 | 11:00 | 12:00 | 13:00 | 14:00 | 15:00 | 16:00 | 17:00 | 18:00 | 19:00 | 20:00 | 21:00 | 22:00 | 23:00 | 00:00 | 01:00 | 02:00 | 03:00 |
| UTC−07:00 | 05:00 | 06:00 | 07:00 | 08:00 | 09:00 | 10:00 | 11:00 | 12:00 | 13:00 | 14:00 | 15:00 | 16:00 | 17:00 | 18:00 | 19:00 | 20:00 | 21:00 | 22:00 | 23:00 | 00:00 | 01:00 | 02:00 | 03:00 | 04:00 |
| UTC−06:00 | 06:00 | 07:00 | 08:00 | 09:00 | 10:00 | 11:00 | 12:00 | 13:00 | 14:00 | 15:00 | 16:00 | 17:00 | 18:00 | 19:00 | 20:00 | 21:00 | 22:00 | 23:00 | 00:00 | 01:00 | 02:00 | 03:00 | 04:00 | 05:00 |
| UTC−05:00 | 07:00 | 08:00 | 09:00 | 10:00 | 11:00 | 12:00 | 13:00 | 14:00 | 15:00 | 16:00 | 17:00 | 18:00 | 19:00 | 20:00 | 21:00 | 22:00 | 23:00 | 00:00 | 01:00 | 02:00 | 03:00 | 04:00 | 05:00 | 06:00 |
| UTC−04:00 | 08:00 | 09:00 | 10:00 | 11:00 | 12:00 | 13:00 | 14:00 | 15:00 | 16:00 | 17:00 | 18:00 | 19:00 | 20:00 | 21:00 | 22:00 | 23:00 | 00:00 | 01:00 | 02:00 | 03:00 | 04:00 | 05:00 | 06:00 | 07:00 |
| UTC−03:30 | 08:30 | 09:30 | 10:30 | 11:30 | 12:30 | 13:30 | 14:30 | 15:30 | 16:30 | 17:30 | 18:30 | 19:30 | 20:30 | 21:30 | 22:30 | 23:30 | 00:30 | 01:30 | 02:30 | 03:30 | 04:30 | 05:30 | 06:30 | 07:30 |
| UTC−03:00 | 09:00 | 10:00 | 11:00 | 12:00 | 13:00 | 14:00 | 15:00 | 16:00 | 17:00 | 18:00 | 19:00 | 20:00 | 21:00 | 22:00 | 23:00 | 00:00 | 01:00 | 02:00 | 03:00 | 04:00 | 05:00 | 06:00 | 07:00 | 08:00 |
| UTC−02:30 | 09:30 | 10:30 | 11:30 | 12:30 | 13:30 | 14:30 | 15:30 | 16:30 | 17:30 | 18:30 | 19:30 | 20:30 | 21:30 | 22:30 | 23:30 | 00:30 | 01:30 | 02:30 | 03:30 | 04:30 | 05:30 | 06:30 | 07:30 | 08:30 |
| UTC−02:00 | 10:00 | 11:00 | 12:00 | 13:00 | 14:00 | 15:00 | 16:00 | 17:00 | 18:00 | 19:00 | 20:00 | 21:00 | 22:00 | 23:00 | 00:00 | 01:00 | 02:00 | 03:00 | 04:00 | 05:00 | 06:00 | 07:00 | 08:00 | 09:00 |
| UTC−01:00 | 11:00 | 12:00 | 13:00 | 14:00 | 15:00 | 16:00 | 17:00 | 18:00 | 19:00 | 20:00 | 21:00 | 22:00 | 23:00 | 00:00 | 01:00 | 02:00 | 03:00 | 04:00 | 05:00 | 06:00 | 07:00 | 08:00 | 09:00 | 10:00 |
| UTC±00:00 | 12:00 | 13:00 | 14:00 | 15:00 | 16:00 | 17:00 | 18:00 | 19:00 | 20:00 | 21:00 | 22:00 | 23:00 | 00:00 | 01:00 | 02:00 | 03:00 | 04:00 | 05:00 | 06:00 | 07:00 | 08:00 | 09:00 | 10:00 | 11:00 |
| UTC+01:00 | 13:00 | 14:00 | 15:00 | 16:00 | 17:00 | 18:00 | 19:00 | 20:00 | 21:00 | 22:00 | 23:00 | 00:00 | 01:00 | 02:00 | 03:00 | 04:00 | 05:00 | 06:00 | 07:00 | 08:00 | 09:00 | 10:00 | 11:00 | 12:00 |
| UTC+02:00 | 14:00 | 15:00 | 16:00 | 17:00 | 18:00 | 19:00 | 20:00 | 21:00 | 22:00 | 23:00 | 00:00 | 01:00 | 02:00 | 03:00 | 04:00 | 05:00 | 06:00 | 07:00 | 08:00 | 09:00 | 10:00 | 11:00 | 12:00 | 13:00 |
| UTC+03:00 | 15:00 | 16:00 | 17:00 | 18:00 | 19:00 | 20:00 | 21:00 | 22:00 | 23:00 | 00:00 | 01:00 | 02:00 | 03:00 | 04:00 | 05:00 | 06:00 | 07:00 | 08:00 | 09:00 | 10:00 | 11:00 | 12:00 | 13:00 | 14:00 |
| UTC+03:30 | 15:30 | 16:30 | 17:30 | 18:30 | 19:30 | 20:30 | 21:30 | 22:30 | 23:30 | 00:30 | 01:30 | 02:30 | 03:30 | 04:30 | 05:30 | 06:30 | 07:30 | 08:30 | 09:30 | 10:30 | 11:30 | 12:30 | 13:30 | 14:30 |
| UTC+04:00 | 16:00 | 17:00 | 18:00 | 19:00 | 20:00 | 21:00 | 22:00 | 23:00 | 00:00 | 01:00 | 02:00 | 03:00 | 04:00 | 05:00 | 06:00 | 07:00 | 08:00 | 09:00 | 10:00 | 11:00 | 12:00 | 13:00 | 14:00 | 15:00 |
| UTC+04:30 | 16:30 | 17:30 | 18:30 | 19:30 | 20:30 | 21:30 | 22:30 | 23:30 | 00:30 | 01:30 | 02:30 | 03:30 | 04:30 | 05:30 | 06:30 | 07:30 | 08:30 | 09:30 | 10:30 | 11:30 | 12:30 | 13:30 | 14:30 | 15:30 |
| UTC+05:00 | 17:00 | 18:00 | 19:00 | 20:00 | 21:00 | 22:00 | 23:00 | 00:00 | 01:00 | 02:00 | 03:00 | 04:00 | 05:00 | 06:00 | 07:00 | 08:00 | 09:00 | 10:00 | 11:00 | 12:00 | 13:00 | 14:00 | 15:00 | 16:00 |
| UTC+05:30 | 17:30 | 18:30 | 19:30 | 20:30 | 21:30 | 22:30 | 23:30 | 00:30 | 01:30 | 02:30 | 03:30 | 04:30 | 05:30 | 06:30 | 07:30 | 08:30 | 09:30 | 10:30 | 11:30 | 12:30 | 13:30 | 14:30 | 15:30 | 16:30 |
| UTC+05:45 | 17:45 | 18:45 | 19:45 | 20:45 | 21:45 | 22:45 | 23:45 | 00:45 | 01:45 | 02:45 | 03:45 | 04:45 | 05:45 | 06:45 | 07:45 | 08:45 | 09:45 | 10:45 | 11:45 | 12:45 | 13:45 | 14:45 | 15:45 | 16:45 |
| UTC+06:00 | 18:00 | 19:00 | 20:00 | 21:00 | 22:00 | 23:00 | 00:00 | 01:00 | 02:00 | 03:00 | 04:00 | 05:00 | 06:00 | 07:00 | 08:00 | 09:00 | 10:00 | 11:00 | 12:00 | 13:00 | 14:00 | 15:00 | 16:00 | 17:00 |
| UTC+06:30 | 18:30 | 19:30 | 20:30 | 21:30 | 22:30 | 23:30 | 00:30 | 01:30 | 02:30 | 03:30 | 04:30 | 05:30 | 06:30 | 07:30 | 08:30 | 09:30 | 10:30 | 11:30 | 12:30 | 13:30 | 14:30 | 15:30 | 16:30 | 17:30 |
| UTC+07:00 | 19:00 | 20:00 | 21:00 | 22:00 | 23:00 | 00:00 | 01:00 | 02:00 | 03:00 | 04:00 | 05:00 | 06:00 | 07:00 | 08:00 | 09:00 | 10:00 | 11:00 | 12:00 | 13:00 | 14:00 | 15:00 | 16:00 | 17:00 | 18:00 |
| UTC+08:00 | 20:00 | 21:00 | 22:00 | 23:00 | 00:00 | 01:00 | 02:00 | 03:00 | 04:00 | 05:00 | 06:00 | 07:00 | 08:00 | 09:00 | 10:00 | 11:00 | 12:00 | 13:00 | 14:00 | 15:00 | 16:00 | 17:00 | 18:00 | 19:00 |
| UTC+08:45 | 20:45 | 21:45 | 22:45 | 23:45 | 00:45 | 01:45 | 02:45 | 03:45 | 04:45 | 05:45 | 06:45 | 07:45 | 08:45 | 09:45 | 10:45 | 11:45 | 12:45 | 13:45 | 14:45 | 15:45 | 16:45 | 17:45 | 18:45 | 19:45 |
| UTC+09:00 | 21:00 | 22:00 | 23:00 | 00:00 | 01:00 | 02:00 | 03:00 | 04:00 | 05:00 | 06:00 | 07:00 | 08:00 | 09:00 | 10:00 | 11:00 | 12:00 | 13:00 | 14:00 | 15:00 | 16:00 | 17:00 | 18:00 | 19:00 | 20:00 |
| UTC+09:30 | 21:30 | 22:30 | 23:30 | 00:30 | 01:30 | 02:30 | 03:30 | 04:30 | 05:30 | 06:30 | 07:30 | 08:30 | 09:30 | 10:30 | 11:30 | 12:30 | 13:30 | 14:30 | 15:30 | 16:30 | 17:30 | 18:30 | 19:30 | 20:30 |
| UTC+10:00 | 22:00 | 23:00 | 00:00 | 01:00 | 02:00 | 03:00 | 04:00 | 05:00 | 06:00 | 07:00 | 08:00 | 09:00 | 10:00 | 11:00 | 12:00 | 13:00 | 14:00 | 15:00 | 16:00 | 17:00 | 18:00 | 19:00 | 20:00 | 21:00 |
| UTC+10:30 | 22:30 | 23:30 | 00:30 | 01:30 | 02:30 | 03:30 | 04:30 | 05:30 | 06:30 | 07:30 | 08:30 | 09:30 | 10:30 | 11:30 | 12:30 | 13:30 | 14:30 | 15:30 | 16:30 | 17:30 | 18:30 | 19:30 | 20:30 | 21:30 |
| UTC+11:00 | 23:00 | 00:00 | 01:00 | 02:00 | 03:00 | 04:00 | 05:00 | 06:00 | 07:00 | 08:00 | 09:00 | 10:00 | 11:00 | 12:00 | 13:00 | 14:00 | 15:00 | 16:00 | 17:00 | 18:00 | 19:00 | 20:00 | 21:00 | 22:00 |
| UTC+12:00 | 00:00 | 01:00 | 02:00 | 03:00 | 04:00 | 05:00 | 06:00 | 07:00 | 08:00 | 09:00 | 10:00 | 11:00 | 12:00 | 13:00 | 14:00 | 15:00 | 16:00 | 17:00 | 18:00 | 19:00 | 20:00 | 21:00 | 22:00 | 23:00 |
| UTC+12:45 | 00:45 | 01:45 | 02:45 | 03:45 | 04:45 | 05:45 | 06:45 | 07:45 | 08:45 | 09:45 | 10:45 | 11:45 | 12:45 | 13:45 | 14:45 | 15:45 | 16:45 | 17:45 | 18:45 | 19:45 | 20:45 | 21:45 | 22:45 | 23:45 |
| UTC+13:00 | 01:00 | 02:00 | 03:00 | 04:00 | 05:00 | 06:00 | 07:00 | 08:00 | 09:00 | 10:00 | 11:00 | 12:00 | 13:00 | 14:00 | 15:00 | 16:00 | 17:00 | 18:00 | 19:00 | 20:00 | 21:00 | 22:00 | 23:00 | 00:00 |
| UTC+13:45 | 01:45 | 02:45 | 03:45 | 04:45 | 05:45 | 06:45 | 07:45 | 08:45 | 09:45 | 10:45 | 11:45 | 12:45 | 13:45 | 14:45 | 15:45 | 16:45 | 17:45 | 18:45 | 19:45 | 20:45 | 21:45 | 22:45 | 23:45 | 00:45 |
| UTC+14:00 | 02:00 | 03:00 | 04:00 | 05:00 | 06:00 | 07:00 | 08:00 | 09:00 | 10:00 | 11:00 | 12:00 | 13:00 | 14:00 | 15:00 | 16:00 | 17:00 | 18:00 | 19:00 | 20:00 | 21:00 | 22:00 | 23:00 | 00:00 | 01:00 |
| UTC offset | Tuesday | Wednesday |
Nautical time zones[edit]
Since the 1920s, a nautical standard time system has been in operation for ships on the high seas. As an ideal form of the terrestrial time zone system, nautical time zones consist of gores of 15° offset from GMT by a whole number of hours. A nautical date line follows the 180th meridian, bisecting one 15° gore into two 7.5° gores that differ from GMT by ±12 hours.[27][28][29]
However, in practice each ship may choose what time to observe at each location. Ships may decide to adjust their clocks at a convenient time, usually at night, not exactly when they cross a certain longitude.[30] Some ships simply remain on the time of the departing port during the whole trip.[31]
Skewing of time zones[edit]
Difference between sun time and clock time during daylight saving time:
| 1h ± 30 min behind | |
| 0h ± 30m | |
| 1h ± 30 m ahead | |
| 2h ± 30 m ahead | |
| 3h ± 30 m ahead |
DST observed
DST formerly observed
DST never observed
Ideal time zones, such as nautical time zones, are based on the mean solar time of a particular meridian located in the middle of that zone with boundaries located 7.5 degrees east and west of the meridian. In practice, however, many time zone boundaries are drawn much farther to the west, and some countries are located entirely outside their ideal time zones.
For example, even though the Prime Meridian (0°) passes through Spain and France, they use the mean solar time of 15 degrees east (Central European Time) rather than 0 degrees (Greenwich Mean Time). France previously used GMT, but was switched to CET (Central European Time) during the German occupation of the country during World War II and did not switch back after the war.[32] Similarly, prior to World War II, the Netherlands observed «Amsterdam Time», which was twenty minutes ahead of Greenwich Mean Time. They were obliged to follow German time during the war, and kept it thereafter. In the mid-1970s the Netherlands, as other European states, began observing daylight saving (summer) time.
One reason to draw time zone boundaries far to the west of their ideal meridians is to allow the more efficient use of afternoon sunlight.[33] Some of these locations also use daylight saving time (DST), further increasing the difference to local solar time. As a result, in summer, solar noon in the Spanish city of Vigo occurs at 14:41 clock time. This westernmost area of continental Spain never experiences sunset before 18:00 clock time, even in winter, despite lying 42 degrees north of the equator.[34] Near the summer solstice, Vigo has sunset times after 22:00, similar to those of Stockholm, which is in the same time zone and 17 degrees farther north. Stockholm has much earlier sunrises, though.[35]
A more extreme example is Nome, Alaska, which is at 165°24′W longitude – just west of center of the idealized Samoa Time Zone (165°W). Nevertheless, Nome observes Alaska Time (135°W) with DST so it is slightly more than two hours ahead of the sun in winter and over three in summer.[36]
Kotzebue, Alaska, also near the same meridian but north of the Arctic Circle, has two sunsets on the same day in early August, one shortly after midnight at the start of the day, and the other shortly before midnight at the end of the day.[37]
China extends as far west as 73°E, but all parts of it use UTC+08:00 (120°E), so solar «noon» can occur as late as 15:00 in western portions of China such as Xinjiang.[38] The Afghanistan-China border marks the greatest terrestrial time zone difference on Earth, with a 3.5 hour difference between Afghanistan’s UTC+4:30 and China’s UTC+08:00.
A visualization of the mismatch between clock time and solar time in different locations. In blue areas, clock time lags behind solar time; in red areas, the reverse is true. The two are synchronized in the white areas.
Daylight saving time[edit]
Many countries, and sometimes just certain regions of countries, adopt daylight saving time (DST), also known as summer time, during part of the year. This typically involves advancing clocks by an hour near the start of spring and adjusting back in autumn («spring forward», «fall back»). Modern DST was first proposed in 1907 and was in widespread use in 1916 as a wartime measure aimed at conserving coal. Despite controversy, many countries have used it off and on since then; details vary by location and change occasionally. Countries around the equator usually do not observe daylight saving time, since the seasonal difference in sunlight there is minimal.
Computer systems[edit]
Many computer operating systems include the necessary support for working with all (or almost all) possible local times based on the various time zones. Internally, operating systems typically use UTC as their basic time-keeping standard, while providing services for converting local times to and from UTC, and also the ability to automatically change local time conversions at the start and end of daylight saving time in the various time zones. (See the article on daylight saving time for more details on this aspect).
Web servers presenting web pages primarily for an audience in a single time zone or a limited range of time zones typically show times as a local time, perhaps with UTC time in brackets. More internationally oriented websites may show times in UTC only or using an arbitrary time zone. For example, the international English-language version of CNN includes GMT and Hong Kong Time,[39] whereas the US version shows Eastern Time.[40] US Eastern Time and Pacific Time are also used fairly commonly on many US-based English-language websites with global readership. The format is typically based in the W3C Note «datetime».
Email systems and other messaging systems (IRC chat, etc.)[41] time-stamp messages using UTC, or else include the sender’s time zone as part of the message, allowing the receiving program to display the message’s date and time of sending in the recipient’s local time.
Database records that include a time stamp typically use UTC, especially when the database is part of a system that spans multiple time zones. The use of local time for time-stamping records is not recommended for time zones that implement daylight saving time because once a year there is a one-hour period when local times are ambiguous.
Calendar systems nowadays usually tie their time stamps to UTC, and show them differently on computers that are in different time zones. That works when having telephone or internet meetings. It works less well when travelling, because the calendar events are assumed to take place in the time zone the computer or smartphone was on when creating the event. The event can be shown at the wrong time. For example, if a New Yorker plans to meet someone in Los Angeles at 9 AM, and makes a calendar entry at 9 AM (which the computer assumes is New York time), the calendar entry will be at 6 AM if taking the computer’s time zone. There is also an option in newer versions of Microsoft Outlook to enter the time zone in which an event will happen, but often not in other calendar systems. Calendaring software must also deal with daylight saving time (DST). If, for political reasons, the begin and end dates of daylight saving time are changed, calendar entries should stay the same in local time, even though they may shift in UTC time. In Microsoft Outlook, time stamps are therefore stored and communicated without DST offsets.[42] Hence, an appointment in London at noon in the summer will be represented as 12:00 (UTC+00:00) even though the event will actually take place at 13:00 UTC. In Google Calendar, calendar events are stored in UTC (although shown in local time) and might be changed by a time-zone changes,[43] although normal daylight saving start and end are compensated for (similar to much other calendar software).
Operating systems[edit]
Unix[edit]
Most Unix-like systems, including Linux and Mac OS X, keep system time in time_t format, representing the number of seconds (excluding leap seconds) that have elapsed since 00:00:00 Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) on Thursday, January 1, 1970.[44] By default the external representation is as UTC (Coordinated Universal Time), though individual processes can specify time zones using the TZ environment variable.[45] This allows users in multiple time zones to use the same computer, with their respective local times displayed correctly to each user. Time zone information most commonly comes from the IANA time zone database. In fact, many systems, including anything using the GNU C Library, can make use of this database.
Microsoft Windows[edit]
Windows-based computer systems prior to Windows 2000 used local time, but Windows 2000 and later can use UTC as the basic system time.[46] The system registry contains time zone information that includes the offset from UTC and rules that indicate the start and end dates for daylight saving in each zone. Interaction with the user normally uses local time, and application software is able to calculate the time in various zones. Terminal Servers allow remote computers to redirect their time zone settings to the Terminal Server so that users see the correct time for their time zone in their desktop/application sessions. Terminal Services uses the server base time on the Terminal Server and the client time zone information to calculate the time in the session.
Programming languages[edit]
Java[edit]
While most application software will use the underlying operating system for time zone information, the Java Platform, from version 1.3.1, has maintained its own time zone database. This database is updated whenever time zone rules change. Oracle provides an updater tool for this purpose.[47]
As an alternative to the time zone information bundled with the Java Platform, programmers may choose to use the Joda-Time library.[48] This library includes its own time zone data based on the IANA time zone database.[49]
As of Java 8 there is a new date and time API that can help with converting time zones.
Java 8 Date Time
JavaScript[edit]
Traditionally, there was very little in the way of time zone support for JavaScript. Essentially the programmer had to extract the UTC offset by instantiating a time object, getting a GMT time from it, and differencing the two. This does not provide a solution for more complex daylight saving variations, such as divergent DST directions between northern and southern hemispheres.
ECMA-402, the standard on Internationalization API for JavaScript, provides ways of formatting Time Zones.[50] However, due to size constraint, some implementations or distributions do not include it.[51]
Perl[edit]
The DateTime object in Perl supports all time zones in the Olson DB and includes the ability to get, set and convert between time zones.[52]
PHP[edit]
The DateTime objects and related functions have been compiled into the PHP core since 5.2. This includes the ability to get and set the default script time zone, and DateTime is aware of its own time zone internally. PHP.net provides extensive documentation on this.[53] As noted there, the most current time zone database can be implemented via the PECL timezonedb.
Python[edit]
The standard module datetime included with Python stores and operates on the time zone information class tzinfo. The third party pytz module provides access to the full IANA time zone database.[54] Negated time zone offset in seconds is stored time.timezone and time.altzone attributes. From Python 3.9, the zoneinfo module introduces timezone management without need for third party module.[55]
Smalltalk[edit]
Each Smalltalk dialect comes with its own built-in classes for dates, times and timestamps, only a few of which implement the DateAndTime and Duration classes as specified by the ANSI Smalltalk Standard. VisualWorks provides a TimeZone class that supports up to two annually recurring offset transitions, which are assumed to apply to all years (same behavior as Windows time zones). Squeak provides a Timezone class that does not support any offset transitions. Dolphin Smalltalk does not support time zones at all.
For full support of the tz database (zoneinfo) in a Smalltalk application (including support for any number of annually recurring offset transitions, and support for different intra-year offset transition rules in different years) the third-party, open-source, ANSI-Smalltalk-compliant Chronos Date/Time Library is available for use with any of the following Smalltalk dialects: VisualWorks, Squeak, Gemstone, or Dolphin.[56]
Time in outer space[edit]
Orbiting spacecraft may experience many sunrises and sunsets, or none, in a 24-hour period. Therefore, it is not possible to calibrate the time with respect to the Sun and still respect a 24-hour sleep/wake cycle. A common practice for space exploration is to use the Earth-based time of the launch site or mission control, synchronizing the sleeping cycles of the crew and controllers. The International Space Station normally uses Greenwich Mean Time (GMT).[57][58]
Timekeeping on Mars can be more complex, since the planet has a solar day of approximately 24 hours and 40 minutes, known as a sol. Earth controllers for some Mars missions have synchronized their sleep/wake cycles with the Martian day, because solar-powered rover activity on the surface was tied to periods of light and dark.[59]
See also[edit]
- Daylight saving time
- ISO 8601
- Jet lag
- Lists of time zones
- Metric time
- Time by country
- Time in Europe
- Time zone abolition
- World clock
- International Date Line
References[edit]
- ^ «Morocco Re-Introduces Clock Changes for Ramadan 2019». Timeanddate.com. April 19, 2019. Archived from the original on December 29, 2020.
- ^ «Time Zone in Casablanca, Morocco». Timeanddate.com. Archived from the original on March 30, 2021.
- ^ «Time Zone in El Aaiún, Western Sahara». Timeanddate.com. Archived from the original on February 14, 2021.
- ^ a b «Décret nº 2017-292 du 6 mars 2017 relatif au temps légal français» [Decree no. 2017-292 of 6 March 2017 relative to French legal time] (in French). Légifrance. March 8, 2017. Archived from the original on December 2, 2020.
- ^ «Latitude and Longitude of World Cities». Infoplease. Archived from the original on May 24, 2011. Retrieved April 18, 2012.
- ^ «WESTMINSTER MEDICAL SOCIETY. Saturday, November 21, 1840». The Lancet. 35 (901): 383. December 1840. doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(00)59842-0. ISSN 0140-6736. Archived from the original on March 30, 2021. Retrieved January 27, 2021.
- ^ «Bristol Time». GreenwichMeanTime.com. Archived from the original on June 28, 2006. Retrieved December 5, 2011.
- ^ «Telegraph line laid across Cook Strait». New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Archived from the original on February 18, 2020. Retrieved January 5, 2020.
- ^ «Our Time. How we got it. New Zealand’s Method. A Lead to the World». Papers Past. Evening Post. p. 10. Archived from the original on October 8, 2013. Retrieved October 2, 2013.
- ^ Alfred, Randy (November 18, 2010). «Nov. 18, 1883: Railroad Time Goes Coast to Coast». Wired. Archived from the original on August 19, 2018. Retrieved July 30, 2018.
- ^ «Economics of Time Zones» (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on May 14, 2012. (1.89 MB)
- ^ «The Times Reports on «the Day of Two Noons»«. History Matters. Archived from the original on April 4, 2012. Retrieved December 5, 2011.
- ^ «Resolution concerning new standard time by Chicago». Sos.state.il.us. Archived from the original on October 5, 2011. Retrieved December 5, 2011.
- ^ Quirico Filopanti from scienzagiovane, Bologna University, Italy. Archived January 17, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Gianluigi Parmeggiani (Osservatorio Astronomico di Bologna),
The origin of time zones Archived August 24, 2007, at the Wayback Machine - ^ Fleming, Sandford (1886). «Time-reckoning for the twentieth century». Annual Report of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution (1): 345–366. Reprinted in 1889: Time-reckoning for the twentieth century at the Internet Archive.
- ^ Stromberg, Joseph (November 18, 2011). «Sandford Fleming Sets the World’s Clock». Smithsonian Magazine.
- ^ «Time Zone & Clock Changes in Kathmandu, Nepal». www.timeanddate.com. Archived from the original on January 22, 2021. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
- ^ Schiavenza, Matt (November 5, 2013). «China Only Has One Time Zone—and That’s a Problem». The Atlantic. Archived from the original on August 22, 2018. Retrieved August 22, 2018.
- ^ «Russia Reduces Number of Time Zones». TimeAndDate.com. March 23, 2010. Archived from the original on August 9, 2020. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
- ^ «About Time: Huge country, nine time zones» (Video). BBC. March 22, 2011. Archived from the original on February 13, 2019. Retrieved February 12, 2019.
- ^ «Russian clocks to retreat again in winter, 11 time zones return». Reuters. July 2014. Archived from the original on October 28, 2020. Retrieved October 25, 2020.
- ^ «In Canada, You Can Just Write the Date Whichever Way You Want». Atlas Obscura. June 8, 2015. Archived from the original on August 22, 2018. Retrieved August 22, 2018.
- ^ a b «Z – Zulu Time Zone (Time Zone Abbreviation)». TimeAndDate.com. Archived from the original on August 22, 2018. Retrieved August 22, 2018.
- ^ «What is UTC or GMT Time?». www.nhc.noaa.gov. Archived from the original on August 22, 2018. Retrieved August 22, 2018.
- ^ Time Zone Abbreviations – Worldwide List Archived August 21, 2018, at the Wayback Machine, Timeanddate.com.
- ^ Bowditch, Nathaniel. American Practical Navigator. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1925, 1939, 1975.
- ^ Hill, John C., Thomas F. Utegaard, Gerard Riordan. Dutton’s Navigation and Piloting. Annapolis: United States Naval Institute, 1958.
- ^ Howse, Derek. Greenwich Time and the Discovery of the Longitude. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1980. ISBN 0-19-215948-8.
- ^ What Is Cruise Ship Time? Archived March 30, 2021, at the Wayback Machine, Cruise Critic, January 8, 2020.
- ^ Frequently Asked Questions Archived February 14, 2021, at the Wayback Machine, Caribbean Adventures Roatan.
- ^ Poulle, Yvonne (1999). «La France à l’heure allemande» (PDF). Bibliothèque de l’École des Chartes. 157 (2): 493–502. doi:10.3406/bec.1999.450989. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 4, 2015. Retrieved January 11, 2012.
- ^ «法定时与北京时间» (in Chinese). 人民教育出版社. Archived from the original on November 14, 2006.
- ^ Vigo, Galicia, Spain – Sunrise, Sunset, and Daylength Archived November 10, 2015, at the Wayback Machine, Timeanddate.com.
- ^ Stockholm, Sweden – Sunrise, Sunset, and Daylength Archived February 9, 2021, at the Wayback Machine, Timeanddate.com.
- ^ O’Hara, Doug (March 11, 2007). «Alaska: daylight stealing time». Far North Science. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved May 11, 2007.
- ^ Alaskan village to get two sunsets Friday Archived October 20, 2020, at the Wayback Machine, United Press International, August 7, 1986.
- ^ Kashgar, Xinjiang, China – Sunrise, Sunset, and Daylength Archived November 8, 2020, at the Wayback Machine, Timeanddate.com
- ^ «International CNN». Edition.cnn.com. Archived from the original on March 10, 2018. Retrieved December 5, 2011.
- ^ «United States CNN». Cnn.com. Archived from the original on September 11, 2001. Retrieved December 5, 2011.
- ^ «Guidelines for Ubuntu IRC Meetings». Canonical Ltd. August 6, 2008. Archived from the original on February 25, 2011. Retrieved July 13, 2009.
- ^ How time zone normalization works in Microsoft Outlook Archived October 6, 2015, at the Wayback Machine. Microsoft (2015).
- ^ Use Google Calendar in different time zones Archived October 16, 2015, at the Wayback Machine. Google Calendar Help (as of Oct. 2015)
- ^ «The Open Group Base Specifications Issue 7, section 4.16 Seconds Since the Epoch». The Open Group. Archived from the original on December 22, 2017. Retrieved January 22, 2017.
- ^ «tzset(3) man page from FreeBSD 12.1-RELEASE». freebsd.org. The FreeBSD project. Archived from the original on August 9, 2020. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
- ^ «GetSystemTime function (Windows)». msdn.microsoft.com. Archived from the original on February 13, 2018. Retrieved February 13, 2018.
- ^ «Timezone Updater Tool». Java.sun.com. Archived from the original on November 24, 2011. Retrieved December 5, 2011.
- ^ «Joda-Time». Joda-time.sourceforge.net. Archived from the original on December 3, 2011. Retrieved December 5, 2011.
- ^ «tz database». Twinsun.com. December 26, 2007. Archived from the original on June 23, 2012. Retrieved December 5, 2011.
- ^ «ECMAScript 2015 Internationalization API Specification». ecma-international.org. ECMA International. June 2015. Archived from the original on October 26, 2019. Retrieved September 4, 2019.
- ^ «Internationalization Support». Node.js v12.10.0 Documentation. Archived from the original on August 28, 2019. Retrieved September 4, 2019.
- ^ «DateTime». METACPAN. Archived from the original on March 29, 2014. Retrieved April 14, 2014.
- ^ «DateTime». Php.net. Archived from the original on November 22, 2011. Retrieved December 5, 2011.
- ^ «pytz module». Pytz.sourceforge.net. Archived from the original on November 30, 2011. Retrieved December 5, 2011.
- ^ «zoneinfo module». www.python.org. Archived from the original on February 7, 2021. Retrieved February 8, 2021.
- ^ Chronos Date/Time Library Archived April 5, 2014, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ «Ask the Crew: STS-111». National Aeronautics and Space Administration. June 19, 2002. Archived from the original on September 28, 2015. Retrieved September 10, 2015.
- ^ Lu, Ed (September 8, 2003). «Day in the Life». National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Archived from the original on September 1, 2012. Retrieved September 10, 2015.
- ^ New Tricks Could Help Mars Rover Team Live on Mars Time Archived August 12, 2014, at the Wayback Machine, Megan Gannon, Space.com, September 28, 2012.
Further reading[edit]
- Biswas, Soutik (February 12, 2019). «How India’s single time zone is hurting its people». BBC News. Retrieved February 12, 2019.
- Maulik Jagnani, economist at Cornell University (January 15, 2019). «PoorSleep: Sunset Time and Human Capital Production» (Job Market Paper). Retrieved February 12, 2019.
- «Time Bandits: The countries rebelling against GMT» (Video). BBC News. August 14, 2015. Retrieved February 12, 2019.
- «How time zones confused the world». BBC News. August 7, 2015. Retrieved February 12, 2019.
- Lane, Megan (May 10, 2011). «How does a country change its time zone?». BBC News. Retrieved February 12, 2019.
- «A brief history of time zones» (Video). BBC News. March 24, 2011. Retrieved February 12, 2019.
- The Time Zone Information Format (TZif). doi:10.17487/RFC8536. RFC 8536.
External links[edit]
Media related to Time zones at Wikimedia Commons
A time zone is an area which observes a uniform standard time for legal, commercial and social purposes. Time zones tend to follow the boundaries between countries and their subdivisions instead of strictly following longitude, because it is convenient for areas in frequent communication to keep the same time.
All time zones are defined as offsets from Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), ranging from UTC−12:00 to UTC+14:00. The offsets are usually a whole number of hours, but a few zones are offset by an additional 30 or 45 minutes, such as in India, South Australia and Nepal.
Some areas of higher latitude use daylight saving time for about half of the year, typically by adding one hour to local time during spring and summer.
List of UTC offsets[edit]
In the table below, the locations that use daylight saving time (DST) are listed in their UTC offset when DST is not in effect. When DST is in effect, approximately during spring and summer, their UTC offset is increased by one hour (except for Lord Howe Island, where it is increased by 30 minutes). For example, during the DST period California observes UTC−07:00 and the United Kingdom observes UTC+01:00.
| UTC offset | Locations that do not use DST | Locations that use DST | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UTC−12:00 |
| |||
| UTC−11:00 |
| |||
| UTC−10:00 |
| United States: Andreanof Islands, Islands of Four Mountains, Near Islands, Rat Islands (Aleutian Islands, Alaska) | ||
| UTC−09:30 | French Polynesia: Marquesas Islands | |||
| UTC−09:00 | French Polynesia: Gambier Islands | United States: Alaska (most) | ||
| UTC−08:00 | Clipperton Island Pitcairn Islands |
| ||
| UTC−07:00 | Canada: British Columbia (northeast), Yukon Mexico: Baja California Sur, Nayarit (most), Sinaloa, Sonora United States: Arizona (most) | Canada: Alberta, British Columbia (southeast), Northwest Territories, Nunavut (west) Mexico: Chihuahua (northwest border) United States: Colorado, Idaho (most), Montana, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming | ||
| UTC−06:00 |
|
| ||
| UTC−05:00 |
|
| ||
| UTC−04:00 |
| Bermuda Canada: Labrador (most), New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island Chile (most) Greenland: Thule Air Base Paraguay | ||
| UTC−03:30 | Canada: Newfoundland, Labrador (southeast) | |||
| UTC−03:00 |
| Greenland (most) Saint Pierre and Miquelon | ||
| UTC−02:00 | Brazil: Fernando de Noronha South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands | |||
| UTC−01:00 | Cape Verde |
| ||
| UTC±00:00 |
| Faroe Islands Guernsey Ireland Isle of Man Jersey Portugal (most) Spain: Canary Islands United Kingdom | ||
| UTC+01:00 |
|
| ||
| UTC+02:00 |
|
| ||
| UTC+03:00 |
| |||
| UTC+03:30 | Iran | |||
| UTC+04:00 |
| |||
| UTC+04:30 | Afghanistan | |||
| UTC+05:00 |
| |||
| UTC+05:30 |
| |||
| UTC+05:45 | Nepal | |||
| UTC+06:00 |
| |||
| UTC+06:30 |
| |||
| UTC+07:00 |
| |||
| UTC+08:00 |
| |||
| UTC+08:45 | Australia: Eucla | |||
| UTC+09:00 |
| |||
| UTC+09:30 | Australia: Northern Territory | Australia: South Australia | ||
| UTC+10:00 |
| Australia: Australian Capital Territory, Jervis Bay Territory, New South Wales (most), Tasmania, Victoria | ||
| UTC+10:30 | Australia: Lord Howe Island | |||
| UTC+11:00 |
| Norfolk Island | ||
| UTC+12:00 |
| New Zealand (most) | ||
| UTC+12:45 | New Zealand: Chatham Islands | |||
| UTC+13:00 |
| |||
| UTC+14:00 | Kiribati: Line Islands |
- ^ a b Observes UTC±00:00 around Ramadan.[1][2][3]
History[edit]
The apparent position of the Sun in the sky, and thus solar time, varies by location due to the spherical shape of the Earth. This variation corresponds to four minutes of time for every degree of longitude, so for example when it is solar noon in London, it is about 10 minutes before solar noon in Bristol, which is about 2.5 degrees to the west.[5]
The Royal Observatory, Greenwich, founded in 1675, established Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), the mean solar time at that location, as an aid to mariners to determine longitude at sea, providing a standard reference time while each location in England kept a different time.
Railway time[edit]
Plaque commemorating the Railway General Time Convention of 1883 in North America
In the 19th century, as transportation and telecommunications improved, it became increasingly inconvenient for each location to observe its own solar time. In November 1840, the Great Western Railway started using GMT kept by portable chronometers.[6] This practice was soon followed by other railway companies in Great Britain and became known as Railway Time.
Around August 23, 1852, time signals were first transmitted by telegraph from the Royal Observatory. By 1855, 98% of Great Britain’s public clocks were using GMT, but it was not made the island’s legal time until August 2, 1880. Some British clocks from this period have two minute hands, one for the local time and one for GMT.[7]
On November 2, 1868, the then British Colony of New Zealand officially adopted a standard time to be observed throughout the colony.[8] It was based on longitude 172°30′ east of Greenwich, that is 11 hours 30 minutes ahead of GMT. This standard was known as New Zealand Mean Time.[9]
Timekeeping on North American railroads in the 19th century was complex. Each railroad used its own standard time, usually based on the local time of its headquarters or most important terminus, and the railroad’s train schedules were published using its own time. Some junctions served by several railroads had a clock for each railroad, each showing a different time.[10]
1913 time zone map of the United States, showing boundaries very different from today
Charles F. Dowd proposed a system of hourly standard time zones for North American railroads around 1863, although he published nothing on the matter at that time and did not consult railroad officials until 1869. In 1870 he proposed four ideal time zones having north–south borders, the first centered on Washington, D.C., but by 1872 the first was centered on meridian 75° west of Greenwich, with natural borders such as sections of the Appalachian Mountains. Dowd’s system was never accepted by North American railroads. Instead, U.S. and Canadian railroads implemented a version proposed by William F. Allen, the editor of the Traveler’s Official Railway Guide.[11] The borders of its time zones ran through railroad stations, often in major cities. For example, the border between its Eastern and Central time zones ran through Detroit, Buffalo, Pittsburgh, Atlanta, and Charleston. It was inaugurated on Sunday, November 18, 1883, also called «The Day of Two Noons»,[12] when each railroad station clock was reset as standard-time noon was reached within each time zone.
The North American zones were named Intercolonial, Eastern, Central, Mountain, and Pacific. Within a year 85% of all cities with populations over 10,000 (about 200 cities) were using standard time.[13] A notable exception was Detroit (located about halfway between the meridians of Eastern and Central time), which kept local time until 1900, then tried Central Standard Time, local mean time, and Eastern Standard Time (EST) before a May 1915 ordinance settled on EST and was ratified by popular vote in August 1916. The confusion of times came to an end when standard time zones were formally adopted by the U.S. Congress in the Standard Time Act of March 19, 1918.
Worldwide time zones[edit]
Italian mathematician Quirico Filopanti introduced the idea of a worldwide system of time zones in his book Miranda!, published in 1858. He proposed 24 hourly time zones, which he called «longitudinal days», the first centred on the meridian of Rome. He also proposed a universal time to be used in astronomy and telegraphy. However, his book attracted no attention until long after his death.[14][15]
Scottish-born Canadian Sir Sandford Fleming proposed a worldwide system of time zones in 1876 — see Sandford Fleming § Inventor of worldwide standard time. The proposal divided the world into twenty-four time zones labeled A-Y (skipping J), each one covering 15 degrees of longitude. All clocks within each zone would be set to the same time as the others, but differed by one hour from those in the neighboring zones.[16] He advocated his system at several international conferences, including the International Meridian Conference, where it received some consideration. The system has not been directly adopted, but some maps divide the world into 24 time zones and assign letters to them, similarly to Fleming’s system.[17]
World map of time zones in 1928
By about 1900, almost all inhabited places on Earth had adopted a standard time zone, but only some of them used an hourly offset from GMT. Many applied the time at a local astronomical observatory to an entire country, without any reference to GMT. It took many decades before all time zones were based on some standard offset from GMT or Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). By 1929, the majority of countries had adopted hourly time zones, though some countries such as Iran, India, Myanmar and parts of Australia had time zones with a 30-minute offset. Nepal was the last country to adopt a standard offset, shifting slightly to UTC+05:45 in 1986.[18]
All nations currently use standard time zones for secular purposes, but not all of them apply the concept as originally conceived. Several countries and subdivisions use half-hour or quarter-hour deviations from standard time. Some countries, such as China and India, use a single time zone even though the extent of their territory far exceeds the ideal 15° of longitude for one hour; other countries, such as Spain and Argentina, use standard hour-based offsets, but not necessarily those that would be determined by their geographical location. The consequences, in some areas, can affect the lives of local citizens, and in extreme cases contribute to larger political issues, such as in the western reaches of China.[19] In Russia, which has 11 time zones, two time zones were removed in 2010[20][21] and reinstated in 2014.[22]
Notation[edit]
ISO 8601[edit]
ISO 8601 is a standard established by the International Organization for Standardization defining methods of representing dates and times in textual form, including specifications for representing time zones.[23]
If a time is in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), a «Z» is added directly after the time without a separating space. «Z» is the zone designator for the zero UTC offset. «09:30 UTC» is therefore represented as «09:30Z» or «0930Z». Likewise, «14:45:15 UTC» is written as «14:45:15Z» or «144515Z».[24] UTC time is also known as «Zulu» time, since «Zulu» is a phonetic alphabet code word for the letter «Z».[24]
Offsets from UTC are written in the format ±hh:mm, ±hhmm, or ±hh (either hours ahead or behind UTC). For example, if the time being described is one hour ahead of UTC (such as the time in Germany during the winter), the zone designator would be «+01:00», «+0100», or simply «+01». This numeric representation of time zones is appended to local times in the same way that alphabetic time zone abbreviations (or «Z», as above) are appended. The offset from UTC changes with daylight saving time, e.g. a time offset in Chicago, which is in the North American Central Time Zone, is «−06:00» for the winter (Central Standard Time) and «−05:00» for the summer (Central Daylight Time).[25]
Abbreviations[edit]
Time zones are often represented by alphabetic abbreviations such as «EST», «WST», and «CST», but these are not part of the international time and date standard ISO 8601. Such designations can be ambiguous; for example, «CST» can mean (North American) Central Standard Time (UTC−06:00), Cuba Standard Time (UTC−05:00) and China Standard Time (UTC+08:00), and it is also a widely used variant of ACST (Australian Central Standard Time, UTC+09:30).[26]
Conversions[edit]
Conversion between time zones obeys the relationship
- «time in zone A» − «UTC offset for zone A» = «time in zone B» − «UTC offset for zone B»,
in which each side of the equation is equivalent to UTC.
The conversion equation can be rearranged to
- «time in zone B» = «time in zone A» − «UTC offset for zone A» + «UTC offset for zone B».
For example, the New York Stock Exchange opens at 09:30 (EST, UTC offset= −05:00). In California (PST, UTC offset= −08:00) and India (IST, UTC offset= +05:30), the New York Stock Exchange opens at
- time in California = 09:30 − (−05:00) + (−08:00) = 06:30;
- time in India = 09:30 − (−05:00) + (+05:30) = 20:00.
These calculations become more complicated near the time switch to or from daylight saving time, as the UTC offset for the area becomes a function of UTC time.
The time differences may also result in different dates. For example, when it is 22:00 on Monday in Egypt (UTC+02:00), it is 01:00 on Tuesday in Pakistan (UTC+05:00).
The table «Time of day by zone» gives an overview on the time relations between different zones.
| Time of day by zone | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UTC offset | Monday | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| UTC−12:00 | 00:00 | 01:00 | 02:00 | 03:00 | 04:00 | 05:00 | 06:00 | 07:00 | 08:00 | 09:00 | 10:00 | 11:00 | 12:00 | 13:00 | 14:00 | 15:00 | 16:00 | 17:00 | 18:00 | 19:00 | 20:00 | 21:00 | 22:00 | 23:00 |
| UTC−11:00 | 01:00 | 02:00 | 03:00 | 04:00 | 05:00 | 06:00 | 07:00 | 08:00 | 09:00 | 10:00 | 11:00 | 12:00 | 13:00 | 14:00 | 15:00 | 16:00 | 17:00 | 18:00 | 19:00 | 20:00 | 21:00 | 22:00 | 23:00 | 00:00 |
| UTC−10:00 | 02:00 | 03:00 | 04:00 | 05:00 | 06:00 | 07:00 | 08:00 | 09:00 | 10:00 | 11:00 | 12:00 | 13:00 | 14:00 | 15:00 | 16:00 | 17:00 | 18:00 | 19:00 | 20:00 | 21:00 | 22:00 | 23:00 | 00:00 | 01:00 |
| UTC−09:30 | 02:30 | 03:30 | 04:30 | 05:30 | 06:30 | 07:30 | 08:30 | 09:30 | 10:30 | 11:30 | 12:30 | 13:30 | 14:30 | 15:30 | 16:30 | 17:30 | 18:30 | 19:30 | 20:30 | 21:30 | 22:30 | 23:30 | 00:30 | 01:30 |
| UTC−09:00 | 03:00 | 04:00 | 05:00 | 06:00 | 07:00 | 08:00 | 09:00 | 10:00 | 11:00 | 12:00 | 13:00 | 14:00 | 15:00 | 16:00 | 17:00 | 18:00 | 19:00 | 20:00 | 21:00 | 22:00 | 23:00 | 00:00 | 01:00 | 02:00 |
| UTC−08:00 | 04:00 | 05:00 | 06:00 | 07:00 | 08:00 | 09:00 | 10:00 | 11:00 | 12:00 | 13:00 | 14:00 | 15:00 | 16:00 | 17:00 | 18:00 | 19:00 | 20:00 | 21:00 | 22:00 | 23:00 | 00:00 | 01:00 | 02:00 | 03:00 |
| UTC−07:00 | 05:00 | 06:00 | 07:00 | 08:00 | 09:00 | 10:00 | 11:00 | 12:00 | 13:00 | 14:00 | 15:00 | 16:00 | 17:00 | 18:00 | 19:00 | 20:00 | 21:00 | 22:00 | 23:00 | 00:00 | 01:00 | 02:00 | 03:00 | 04:00 |
| UTC−06:00 | 06:00 | 07:00 | 08:00 | 09:00 | 10:00 | 11:00 | 12:00 | 13:00 | 14:00 | 15:00 | 16:00 | 17:00 | 18:00 | 19:00 | 20:00 | 21:00 | 22:00 | 23:00 | 00:00 | 01:00 | 02:00 | 03:00 | 04:00 | 05:00 |
| UTC−05:00 | 07:00 | 08:00 | 09:00 | 10:00 | 11:00 | 12:00 | 13:00 | 14:00 | 15:00 | 16:00 | 17:00 | 18:00 | 19:00 | 20:00 | 21:00 | 22:00 | 23:00 | 00:00 | 01:00 | 02:00 | 03:00 | 04:00 | 05:00 | 06:00 |
| UTC−04:00 | 08:00 | 09:00 | 10:00 | 11:00 | 12:00 | 13:00 | 14:00 | 15:00 | 16:00 | 17:00 | 18:00 | 19:00 | 20:00 | 21:00 | 22:00 | 23:00 | 00:00 | 01:00 | 02:00 | 03:00 | 04:00 | 05:00 | 06:00 | 07:00 |
| UTC−03:30 | 08:30 | 09:30 | 10:30 | 11:30 | 12:30 | 13:30 | 14:30 | 15:30 | 16:30 | 17:30 | 18:30 | 19:30 | 20:30 | 21:30 | 22:30 | 23:30 | 00:30 | 01:30 | 02:30 | 03:30 | 04:30 | 05:30 | 06:30 | 07:30 |
| UTC−03:00 | 09:00 | 10:00 | 11:00 | 12:00 | 13:00 | 14:00 | 15:00 | 16:00 | 17:00 | 18:00 | 19:00 | 20:00 | 21:00 | 22:00 | 23:00 | 00:00 | 01:00 | 02:00 | 03:00 | 04:00 | 05:00 | 06:00 | 07:00 | 08:00 |
| UTC−02:30 | 09:30 | 10:30 | 11:30 | 12:30 | 13:30 | 14:30 | 15:30 | 16:30 | 17:30 | 18:30 | 19:30 | 20:30 | 21:30 | 22:30 | 23:30 | 00:30 | 01:30 | 02:30 | 03:30 | 04:30 | 05:30 | 06:30 | 07:30 | 08:30 |
| UTC−02:00 | 10:00 | 11:00 | 12:00 | 13:00 | 14:00 | 15:00 | 16:00 | 17:00 | 18:00 | 19:00 | 20:00 | 21:00 | 22:00 | 23:00 | 00:00 | 01:00 | 02:00 | 03:00 | 04:00 | 05:00 | 06:00 | 07:00 | 08:00 | 09:00 |
| UTC−01:00 | 11:00 | 12:00 | 13:00 | 14:00 | 15:00 | 16:00 | 17:00 | 18:00 | 19:00 | 20:00 | 21:00 | 22:00 | 23:00 | 00:00 | 01:00 | 02:00 | 03:00 | 04:00 | 05:00 | 06:00 | 07:00 | 08:00 | 09:00 | 10:00 |
| UTC±00:00 | 12:00 | 13:00 | 14:00 | 15:00 | 16:00 | 17:00 | 18:00 | 19:00 | 20:00 | 21:00 | 22:00 | 23:00 | 00:00 | 01:00 | 02:00 | 03:00 | 04:00 | 05:00 | 06:00 | 07:00 | 08:00 | 09:00 | 10:00 | 11:00 |
| UTC+01:00 | 13:00 | 14:00 | 15:00 | 16:00 | 17:00 | 18:00 | 19:00 | 20:00 | 21:00 | 22:00 | 23:00 | 00:00 | 01:00 | 02:00 | 03:00 | 04:00 | 05:00 | 06:00 | 07:00 | 08:00 | 09:00 | 10:00 | 11:00 | 12:00 |
| UTC+02:00 | 14:00 | 15:00 | 16:00 | 17:00 | 18:00 | 19:00 | 20:00 | 21:00 | 22:00 | 23:00 | 00:00 | 01:00 | 02:00 | 03:00 | 04:00 | 05:00 | 06:00 | 07:00 | 08:00 | 09:00 | 10:00 | 11:00 | 12:00 | 13:00 |
| UTC+03:00 | 15:00 | 16:00 | 17:00 | 18:00 | 19:00 | 20:00 | 21:00 | 22:00 | 23:00 | 00:00 | 01:00 | 02:00 | 03:00 | 04:00 | 05:00 | 06:00 | 07:00 | 08:00 | 09:00 | 10:00 | 11:00 | 12:00 | 13:00 | 14:00 |
| UTC+03:30 | 15:30 | 16:30 | 17:30 | 18:30 | 19:30 | 20:30 | 21:30 | 22:30 | 23:30 | 00:30 | 01:30 | 02:30 | 03:30 | 04:30 | 05:30 | 06:30 | 07:30 | 08:30 | 09:30 | 10:30 | 11:30 | 12:30 | 13:30 | 14:30 |
| UTC+04:00 | 16:00 | 17:00 | 18:00 | 19:00 | 20:00 | 21:00 | 22:00 | 23:00 | 00:00 | 01:00 | 02:00 | 03:00 | 04:00 | 05:00 | 06:00 | 07:00 | 08:00 | 09:00 | 10:00 | 11:00 | 12:00 | 13:00 | 14:00 | 15:00 |
| UTC+04:30 | 16:30 | 17:30 | 18:30 | 19:30 | 20:30 | 21:30 | 22:30 | 23:30 | 00:30 | 01:30 | 02:30 | 03:30 | 04:30 | 05:30 | 06:30 | 07:30 | 08:30 | 09:30 | 10:30 | 11:30 | 12:30 | 13:30 | 14:30 | 15:30 |
| UTC+05:00 | 17:00 | 18:00 | 19:00 | 20:00 | 21:00 | 22:00 | 23:00 | 00:00 | 01:00 | 02:00 | 03:00 | 04:00 | 05:00 | 06:00 | 07:00 | 08:00 | 09:00 | 10:00 | 11:00 | 12:00 | 13:00 | 14:00 | 15:00 | 16:00 |
| UTC+05:30 | 17:30 | 18:30 | 19:30 | 20:30 | 21:30 | 22:30 | 23:30 | 00:30 | 01:30 | 02:30 | 03:30 | 04:30 | 05:30 | 06:30 | 07:30 | 08:30 | 09:30 | 10:30 | 11:30 | 12:30 | 13:30 | 14:30 | 15:30 | 16:30 |
| UTC+05:45 | 17:45 | 18:45 | 19:45 | 20:45 | 21:45 | 22:45 | 23:45 | 00:45 | 01:45 | 02:45 | 03:45 | 04:45 | 05:45 | 06:45 | 07:45 | 08:45 | 09:45 | 10:45 | 11:45 | 12:45 | 13:45 | 14:45 | 15:45 | 16:45 |
| UTC+06:00 | 18:00 | 19:00 | 20:00 | 21:00 | 22:00 | 23:00 | 00:00 | 01:00 | 02:00 | 03:00 | 04:00 | 05:00 | 06:00 | 07:00 | 08:00 | 09:00 | 10:00 | 11:00 | 12:00 | 13:00 | 14:00 | 15:00 | 16:00 | 17:00 |
| UTC+06:30 | 18:30 | 19:30 | 20:30 | 21:30 | 22:30 | 23:30 | 00:30 | 01:30 | 02:30 | 03:30 | 04:30 | 05:30 | 06:30 | 07:30 | 08:30 | 09:30 | 10:30 | 11:30 | 12:30 | 13:30 | 14:30 | 15:30 | 16:30 | 17:30 |
| UTC+07:00 | 19:00 | 20:00 | 21:00 | 22:00 | 23:00 | 00:00 | 01:00 | 02:00 | 03:00 | 04:00 | 05:00 | 06:00 | 07:00 | 08:00 | 09:00 | 10:00 | 11:00 | 12:00 | 13:00 | 14:00 | 15:00 | 16:00 | 17:00 | 18:00 |
| UTC+08:00 | 20:00 | 21:00 | 22:00 | 23:00 | 00:00 | 01:00 | 02:00 | 03:00 | 04:00 | 05:00 | 06:00 | 07:00 | 08:00 | 09:00 | 10:00 | 11:00 | 12:00 | 13:00 | 14:00 | 15:00 | 16:00 | 17:00 | 18:00 | 19:00 |
| UTC+08:45 | 20:45 | 21:45 | 22:45 | 23:45 | 00:45 | 01:45 | 02:45 | 03:45 | 04:45 | 05:45 | 06:45 | 07:45 | 08:45 | 09:45 | 10:45 | 11:45 | 12:45 | 13:45 | 14:45 | 15:45 | 16:45 | 17:45 | 18:45 | 19:45 |
| UTC+09:00 | 21:00 | 22:00 | 23:00 | 00:00 | 01:00 | 02:00 | 03:00 | 04:00 | 05:00 | 06:00 | 07:00 | 08:00 | 09:00 | 10:00 | 11:00 | 12:00 | 13:00 | 14:00 | 15:00 | 16:00 | 17:00 | 18:00 | 19:00 | 20:00 |
| UTC+09:30 | 21:30 | 22:30 | 23:30 | 00:30 | 01:30 | 02:30 | 03:30 | 04:30 | 05:30 | 06:30 | 07:30 | 08:30 | 09:30 | 10:30 | 11:30 | 12:30 | 13:30 | 14:30 | 15:30 | 16:30 | 17:30 | 18:30 | 19:30 | 20:30 |
| UTC+10:00 | 22:00 | 23:00 | 00:00 | 01:00 | 02:00 | 03:00 | 04:00 | 05:00 | 06:00 | 07:00 | 08:00 | 09:00 | 10:00 | 11:00 | 12:00 | 13:00 | 14:00 | 15:00 | 16:00 | 17:00 | 18:00 | 19:00 | 20:00 | 21:00 |
| UTC+10:30 | 22:30 | 23:30 | 00:30 | 01:30 | 02:30 | 03:30 | 04:30 | 05:30 | 06:30 | 07:30 | 08:30 | 09:30 | 10:30 | 11:30 | 12:30 | 13:30 | 14:30 | 15:30 | 16:30 | 17:30 | 18:30 | 19:30 | 20:30 | 21:30 |
| UTC+11:00 | 23:00 | 00:00 | 01:00 | 02:00 | 03:00 | 04:00 | 05:00 | 06:00 | 07:00 | 08:00 | 09:00 | 10:00 | 11:00 | 12:00 | 13:00 | 14:00 | 15:00 | 16:00 | 17:00 | 18:00 | 19:00 | 20:00 | 21:00 | 22:00 |
| UTC+12:00 | 00:00 | 01:00 | 02:00 | 03:00 | 04:00 | 05:00 | 06:00 | 07:00 | 08:00 | 09:00 | 10:00 | 11:00 | 12:00 | 13:00 | 14:00 | 15:00 | 16:00 | 17:00 | 18:00 | 19:00 | 20:00 | 21:00 | 22:00 | 23:00 |
| UTC+12:45 | 00:45 | 01:45 | 02:45 | 03:45 | 04:45 | 05:45 | 06:45 | 07:45 | 08:45 | 09:45 | 10:45 | 11:45 | 12:45 | 13:45 | 14:45 | 15:45 | 16:45 | 17:45 | 18:45 | 19:45 | 20:45 | 21:45 | 22:45 | 23:45 |
| UTC+13:00 | 01:00 | 02:00 | 03:00 | 04:00 | 05:00 | 06:00 | 07:00 | 08:00 | 09:00 | 10:00 | 11:00 | 12:00 | 13:00 | 14:00 | 15:00 | 16:00 | 17:00 | 18:00 | 19:00 | 20:00 | 21:00 | 22:00 | 23:00 | 00:00 |
| UTC+13:45 | 01:45 | 02:45 | 03:45 | 04:45 | 05:45 | 06:45 | 07:45 | 08:45 | 09:45 | 10:45 | 11:45 | 12:45 | 13:45 | 14:45 | 15:45 | 16:45 | 17:45 | 18:45 | 19:45 | 20:45 | 21:45 | 22:45 | 23:45 | 00:45 |
| UTC+14:00 | 02:00 | 03:00 | 04:00 | 05:00 | 06:00 | 07:00 | 08:00 | 09:00 | 10:00 | 11:00 | 12:00 | 13:00 | 14:00 | 15:00 | 16:00 | 17:00 | 18:00 | 19:00 | 20:00 | 21:00 | 22:00 | 23:00 | 00:00 | 01:00 |
| UTC offset | Tuesday | Wednesday |
Nautical time zones[edit]
Since the 1920s, a nautical standard time system has been in operation for ships on the high seas. As an ideal form of the terrestrial time zone system, nautical time zones consist of gores of 15° offset from GMT by a whole number of hours. A nautical date line follows the 180th meridian, bisecting one 15° gore into two 7.5° gores that differ from GMT by ±12 hours.[27][28][29]
However, in practice each ship may choose what time to observe at each location. Ships may decide to adjust their clocks at a convenient time, usually at night, not exactly when they cross a certain longitude.[30] Some ships simply remain on the time of the departing port during the whole trip.[31]
Skewing of time zones[edit]
Difference between sun time and clock time during daylight saving time:
| 1h ± 30 min behind | |
| 0h ± 30m | |
| 1h ± 30 m ahead | |
| 2h ± 30 m ahead | |
| 3h ± 30 m ahead |
DST observed
DST formerly observed
DST never observed
Ideal time zones, such as nautical time zones, are based on the mean solar time of a particular meridian located in the middle of that zone with boundaries located 7.5 degrees east and west of the meridian. In practice, however, many time zone boundaries are drawn much farther to the west, and some countries are located entirely outside their ideal time zones.
For example, even though the Prime Meridian (0°) passes through Spain and France, they use the mean solar time of 15 degrees east (Central European Time) rather than 0 degrees (Greenwich Mean Time). France previously used GMT, but was switched to CET (Central European Time) during the German occupation of the country during World War II and did not switch back after the war.[32] Similarly, prior to World War II, the Netherlands observed «Amsterdam Time», which was twenty minutes ahead of Greenwich Mean Time. They were obliged to follow German time during the war, and kept it thereafter. In the mid-1970s the Netherlands, as other European states, began observing daylight saving (summer) time.
One reason to draw time zone boundaries far to the west of their ideal meridians is to allow the more efficient use of afternoon sunlight.[33] Some of these locations also use daylight saving time (DST), further increasing the difference to local solar time. As a result, in summer, solar noon in the Spanish city of Vigo occurs at 14:41 clock time. This westernmost area of continental Spain never experiences sunset before 18:00 clock time, even in winter, despite lying 42 degrees north of the equator.[34] Near the summer solstice, Vigo has sunset times after 22:00, similar to those of Stockholm, which is in the same time zone and 17 degrees farther north. Stockholm has much earlier sunrises, though.[35]
A more extreme example is Nome, Alaska, which is at 165°24′W longitude – just west of center of the idealized Samoa Time Zone (165°W). Nevertheless, Nome observes Alaska Time (135°W) with DST so it is slightly more than two hours ahead of the sun in winter and over three in summer.[36]
Kotzebue, Alaska, also near the same meridian but north of the Arctic Circle, has two sunsets on the same day in early August, one shortly after midnight at the start of the day, and the other shortly before midnight at the end of the day.[37]
China extends as far west as 73°E, but all parts of it use UTC+08:00 (120°E), so solar «noon» can occur as late as 15:00 in western portions of China such as Xinjiang.[38] The Afghanistan-China border marks the greatest terrestrial time zone difference on Earth, with a 3.5 hour difference between Afghanistan’s UTC+4:30 and China’s UTC+08:00.
A visualization of the mismatch between clock time and solar time in different locations. In blue areas, clock time lags behind solar time; in red areas, the reverse is true. The two are synchronized in the white areas.
Daylight saving time[edit]
Many countries, and sometimes just certain regions of countries, adopt daylight saving time (DST), also known as summer time, during part of the year. This typically involves advancing clocks by an hour near the start of spring and adjusting back in autumn («spring forward», «fall back»). Modern DST was first proposed in 1907 and was in widespread use in 1916 as a wartime measure aimed at conserving coal. Despite controversy, many countries have used it off and on since then; details vary by location and change occasionally. Countries around the equator usually do not observe daylight saving time, since the seasonal difference in sunlight there is minimal.
Computer systems[edit]
Many computer operating systems include the necessary support for working with all (or almost all) possible local times based on the various time zones. Internally, operating systems typically use UTC as their basic time-keeping standard, while providing services for converting local times to and from UTC, and also the ability to automatically change local time conversions at the start and end of daylight saving time in the various time zones. (See the article on daylight saving time for more details on this aspect).
Web servers presenting web pages primarily for an audience in a single time zone or a limited range of time zones typically show times as a local time, perhaps with UTC time in brackets. More internationally oriented websites may show times in UTC only or using an arbitrary time zone. For example, the international English-language version of CNN includes GMT and Hong Kong Time,[39] whereas the US version shows Eastern Time.[40] US Eastern Time and Pacific Time are also used fairly commonly on many US-based English-language websites with global readership. The format is typically based in the W3C Note «datetime».
Email systems and other messaging systems (IRC chat, etc.)[41] time-stamp messages using UTC, or else include the sender’s time zone as part of the message, allowing the receiving program to display the message’s date and time of sending in the recipient’s local time.
Database records that include a time stamp typically use UTC, especially when the database is part of a system that spans multiple time zones. The use of local time for time-stamping records is not recommended for time zones that implement daylight saving time because once a year there is a one-hour period when local times are ambiguous.
Calendar systems nowadays usually tie their time stamps to UTC, and show them differently on computers that are in different time zones. That works when having telephone or internet meetings. It works less well when travelling, because the calendar events are assumed to take place in the time zone the computer or smartphone was on when creating the event. The event can be shown at the wrong time. For example, if a New Yorker plans to meet someone in Los Angeles at 9 AM, and makes a calendar entry at 9 AM (which the computer assumes is New York time), the calendar entry will be at 6 AM if taking the computer’s time zone. There is also an option in newer versions of Microsoft Outlook to enter the time zone in which an event will happen, but often not in other calendar systems. Calendaring software must also deal with daylight saving time (DST). If, for political reasons, the begin and end dates of daylight saving time are changed, calendar entries should stay the same in local time, even though they may shift in UTC time. In Microsoft Outlook, time stamps are therefore stored and communicated without DST offsets.[42] Hence, an appointment in London at noon in the summer will be represented as 12:00 (UTC+00:00) even though the event will actually take place at 13:00 UTC. In Google Calendar, calendar events are stored in UTC (although shown in local time) and might be changed by a time-zone changes,[43] although normal daylight saving start and end are compensated for (similar to much other calendar software).
Operating systems[edit]
Unix[edit]
Most Unix-like systems, including Linux and Mac OS X, keep system time in time_t format, representing the number of seconds (excluding leap seconds) that have elapsed since 00:00:00 Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) on Thursday, January 1, 1970.[44] By default the external representation is as UTC (Coordinated Universal Time), though individual processes can specify time zones using the TZ environment variable.[45] This allows users in multiple time zones to use the same computer, with their respective local times displayed correctly to each user. Time zone information most commonly comes from the IANA time zone database. In fact, many systems, including anything using the GNU C Library, can make use of this database.
Microsoft Windows[edit]
Windows-based computer systems prior to Windows 2000 used local time, but Windows 2000 and later can use UTC as the basic system time.[46] The system registry contains time zone information that includes the offset from UTC and rules that indicate the start and end dates for daylight saving in each zone. Interaction with the user normally uses local time, and application software is able to calculate the time in various zones. Terminal Servers allow remote computers to redirect their time zone settings to the Terminal Server so that users see the correct time for their time zone in their desktop/application sessions. Terminal Services uses the server base time on the Terminal Server and the client time zone information to calculate the time in the session.
Programming languages[edit]
Java[edit]
While most application software will use the underlying operating system for time zone information, the Java Platform, from version 1.3.1, has maintained its own time zone database. This database is updated whenever time zone rules change. Oracle provides an updater tool for this purpose.[47]
As an alternative to the time zone information bundled with the Java Platform, programmers may choose to use the Joda-Time library.[48] This library includes its own time zone data based on the IANA time zone database.[49]
As of Java 8 there is a new date and time API that can help with converting time zones.
Java 8 Date Time
JavaScript[edit]
Traditionally, there was very little in the way of time zone support for JavaScript. Essentially the programmer had to extract the UTC offset by instantiating a time object, getting a GMT time from it, and differencing the two. This does not provide a solution for more complex daylight saving variations, such as divergent DST directions between northern and southern hemispheres.
ECMA-402, the standard on Internationalization API for JavaScript, provides ways of formatting Time Zones.[50] However, due to size constraint, some implementations or distributions do not include it.[51]
Perl[edit]
The DateTime object in Perl supports all time zones in the Olson DB and includes the ability to get, set and convert between time zones.[52]
PHP[edit]
The DateTime objects and related functions have been compiled into the PHP core since 5.2. This includes the ability to get and set the default script time zone, and DateTime is aware of its own time zone internally. PHP.net provides extensive documentation on this.[53] As noted there, the most current time zone database can be implemented via the PECL timezonedb.
Python[edit]
The standard module datetime included with Python stores and operates on the time zone information class tzinfo. The third party pytz module provides access to the full IANA time zone database.[54] Negated time zone offset in seconds is stored time.timezone and time.altzone attributes. From Python 3.9, the zoneinfo module introduces timezone management without need for third party module.[55]
Smalltalk[edit]
Each Smalltalk dialect comes with its own built-in classes for dates, times and timestamps, only a few of which implement the DateAndTime and Duration classes as specified by the ANSI Smalltalk Standard. VisualWorks provides a TimeZone class that supports up to two annually recurring offset transitions, which are assumed to apply to all years (same behavior as Windows time zones). Squeak provides a Timezone class that does not support any offset transitions. Dolphin Smalltalk does not support time zones at all.
For full support of the tz database (zoneinfo) in a Smalltalk application (including support for any number of annually recurring offset transitions, and support for different intra-year offset transition rules in different years) the third-party, open-source, ANSI-Smalltalk-compliant Chronos Date/Time Library is available for use with any of the following Smalltalk dialects: VisualWorks, Squeak, Gemstone, or Dolphin.[56]
Time in outer space[edit]
Orbiting spacecraft may experience many sunrises and sunsets, or none, in a 24-hour period. Therefore, it is not possible to calibrate the time with respect to the Sun and still respect a 24-hour sleep/wake cycle. A common practice for space exploration is to use the Earth-based time of the launch site or mission control, synchronizing the sleeping cycles of the crew and controllers. The International Space Station normally uses Greenwich Mean Time (GMT).[57][58]
Timekeeping on Mars can be more complex, since the planet has a solar day of approximately 24 hours and 40 minutes, known as a sol. Earth controllers for some Mars missions have synchronized their sleep/wake cycles with the Martian day, because solar-powered rover activity on the surface was tied to periods of light and dark.[59]
See also[edit]
- Daylight saving time
- ISO 8601
- Jet lag
- Lists of time zones
- Metric time
- Time by country
- Time in Europe
- Time zone abolition
- World clock
- International Date Line
References[edit]
- ^ «Morocco Re-Introduces Clock Changes for Ramadan 2019». Timeanddate.com. April 19, 2019. Archived from the original on December 29, 2020.
- ^ «Time Zone in Casablanca, Morocco». Timeanddate.com. Archived from the original on March 30, 2021.
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Further reading[edit]
- Biswas, Soutik (February 12, 2019). «How India’s single time zone is hurting its people». BBC News. Retrieved February 12, 2019.
- Maulik Jagnani, economist at Cornell University (January 15, 2019). «PoorSleep: Sunset Time and Human Capital Production» (Job Market Paper). Retrieved February 12, 2019.
- «Time Bandits: The countries rebelling against GMT» (Video). BBC News. August 14, 2015. Retrieved February 12, 2019.
- «How time zones confused the world». BBC News. August 7, 2015. Retrieved February 12, 2019.
- Lane, Megan (May 10, 2011). «How does a country change its time zone?». BBC News. Retrieved February 12, 2019.
- «A brief history of time zones» (Video). BBC News. March 24, 2011. Retrieved February 12, 2019.
- The Time Zone Information Format (TZif). doi:10.17487/RFC8536. RFC 8536.
External links[edit]
- Media related to Time zones at Wikimedia Commons
Содержание
- — Где проходит нулевой часовой пояс?
- — Как определяется часовой пояс?
- — Где часовой пояс часа?
- — Как определить номер часового пояса по долготе?
- — Что такое нулевой пояс?
- — Где часовой пояс 3?
- — Как правильно выбрать часовой пояс на компьютере?
- — Как определяется мировое время?
- — Где разница с Москвой часов?
- — Где раньше всего начинается день на Земле?
- — Где время отличается на 30 минут?
- — Как вычислить время по долготе?
- — Как найти Местное и поясное время?
- — Почему в разных местах разное время?
Где проходит нулевой часовой пояс?
Нулевой часовой пояс — пояс, средним меридианом которого является нулевой меридиан (проведён через г. Гринвич, который находится в Великобритании).
Как определяется часовой пояс?
В основу современной системы часовых поясов положено всемирное координированное время, от которого зависит время всех поясов. Чтобы не вводить местное солнечное время для каждого значения долготы, поверхность Земли условно поделена на 24 часовых пояса, местное время на границах которых изменяется ровно на 1 час.
Где часовой пояс часа?
В часовом поясе UTC + 1 час расположены почти все страны Европейского союза и Западная часть Центральной Африки. В часовом поясе UTC + 2 часа находится Финляндия, Прибалтийские страны, Украина, Молдова, Румыния, Болгария, Греция, Сирия, Египет и страны Юго-Восточной Африки.
Как определить номер часового пояса по долготе?
Для определения номера часового пояса (№E/W) необходимо географическую долготу наблюдателя разделить на 15°. Целое частное и укажет номер часового пояса; если остаток от деления будет больше, чем 7°30′, к частному от деления нужно прибавить 1. Например: λ = 38°Е; № = 38° : 15° = 2 + 8° и так как 8° > 7°30′, то № = 3Е.
Что такое нулевой пояс?
Нулевой пояс – это пояс, срединным меридианом которого является Гринвичский (нулевой) меридиан. От него счет поясов ведется к востоку.
Где часовой пояс 3?
Особенно это касалось перешедших на московское время регионов 3-го часового пояса, в котором по состоянию на 1980 год своё местное время сохранили только Астрахань, Волгоград, Ижевск, Киров, Самара (Куйбышев), Саратов и Ульяновск.
Как правильно выбрать часовой пояс на компьютере?
- Нажмите на часы.
- Перейдите по ссылке Изменение настроек даты и времени.
- На вкладке Дата и время нажмите кнопку Изменить часовой пояс.
- В окне Выбор часового пояса выберите часовой пояс вашего региона.
- Нажмите ОК.
Как определяется мировое время?
Всемирное время или Universal Time (UTC) — это время в любой точке планеты в любой момен. Эта шкала времени является современным аналогом времени по Гринвичу (GTM), оно отличается от времени по Гринвичу всего на 0,9 секунды.
Где разница с Москвой часов?
Разница во времени между городами России и г. Москва
| Город | Часовой пояс (зима) | Разница во времени с Москвой |
|---|---|---|
| Брянск | GMT+3 | Московское |
| Великие Луки | GMT+3 | Московское |
| Великий Новгород | GMT+3 | Московское |
| Владивосток | GMT+10 | 7 часов |
Где раньше всего начинается день на Земле?
Какие страны первыми встречают Новый год и новый день? Это Королевство Тонга, Республика Кирибати, а также новозеландское владение остров Чатем.
Где время отличается на 30 минут?
Разница в часовых поясах между Индией и Непалом — 15 минут
На той же карте слева наверху Пакистан. У него разница с Индией 30 минут.
Как вычислить время по долготе?
Если 360° разделить на 24 ч, то получим, что один час — это 15°, а 1° — это 4 минуты. Располагая значениями эталонного времени и произвольной долготы, можно легко определить время на половине меридиане, соответствующем этой долготе (на второй половине будет на 12 часов меньше или больше).
Как найти Местное и поясное время?
Для определения поясного времени: Поясное время определяется по формуле: Tn = T0 + n , где Т0 — всемирное время; n — номер часового пояса.
Почему в разных местах разное время?
Теория: Так как Земля вращается вокруг своей оси, Солнце встаёт и заходит в разных частях нашей планеты в разное время. … Пользоваться местным временем в быту невозможно, так как на каждом меридиане было бы своё собственное время. Для удобства Землю условно поделили на 24 часовых пояса.
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Как определить часовые пояса
В связи с тем, что размеры нашей планеты огромны, в один и тот же отрезок времени, в разных точках Земли – свое местное солнечное время. И чтобы избежать неразберихи в выяснении вопроса: «Так который же час?», была принята система стандартного времени. И Землю условно поделили на 24 часовых пояса. Точкой отсчета взяли нулевой меридиан, от которого на восток идут часовые пояса +1, +2, +3 и т.д., а на запад: -1, -2, -3 и т.д. Так что, благодаря системе часовых поясов, теперь достаточно просто определить искомый.
Вам понадобится
- — компьютер
- — карта часовых поясов
- — карта мира с указанием градусов долготы
Инструкция
Включите компьютер и кликните на индикатор часов в правом нижнем углу экрана. Теперь, в открывшемся окне, кликните на функцию «Изменение настроек даты и времени». И, уже в новом окне, выбирайте функцию «Изменить часовой пояс». Перед вами откроется длинный список часовых поясов с перечнем городов, которые к ним относятся. Конечно, здесь указаны только столицы государств и нет маленьких городков. Так что, если вы хотите узнать часовой пояс небольшого города – просто найдите в данном списке столицу его страны, т.к., обычно, в пределах одной страны действует один часовой пояс.
Воспользуйтесь обыкновенной картой мира, на которой подробно указаны средние меридианы: 0°, 15°, 30°, 45°, 60° и т.д. Дело в том, что один часовой пояс занимает приблизительно 15°, но не четко от 0° до 15°, от 15° до 30°, от 30° до 45° и т.д., а со смещением, которое равно – 7°30. А значит, для того, чтобы определить границы, например, часового пояса UTC+1, надо провести линии справа и слева от среднего меридиана 15° восточной долготы на расстоянии 7°30′. Для того же, чтобы определить часовой пояс места, которое расположено, например, в районе 60° западной долготы, надо посчитать его положение по отношению к нулевому меридиану: 15° – один, 30° – два, 45° – три, 60° — четыре. Значит 60° западной долготы – часовой пояс UTC-1.
Воспользуйтесь подробной картой часовых поясов. Такая карта – самый простой и надежный способ определить часовой пояс той или иной точки земного шара. Так как здесь, указаны не только границы каждого из 24 часовых поясов, но и есть пометка – переходит ли страна на летнее время. Выглядит это, например, так: +1(+2), и означает, что страна относится к часовому поясу UTC+1, но в летнее время, она относится к часовому поясу UTC+2. Конечно, не забывайте учитывать, что в разных полушариях лето и зима в разное время. Еще один большой плюс такой карты, возможность определить, действуют ли на ее территории разные часовые пояса, как в России, или же, не смотря на большую территорию, принят только один пояс, как в Китае.
Обратите внимание
Несмотря на общепринятую систему часовых поясов, в действительности, для того, чтобы сохранить единое время внутри одной страны или административной единицы, границы поясов смещаются, поэтому местами некоторые часовые пояса вытеснены соседними.
Полезный совет
Определяя часовой пояс, не забывайте, что в некоторых странах местное время отличается от всемирного времени не только на стандартный час, но еще и дополнительно на 30 или 45 минут.
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Путешествуя по России и Миру, необходимо помнить, что время может меняться в зависимости от того, где вы находитесь. Так как в основном везде используется местное время необходимо уметь определять его в любой точке мира. В основу современной системы часовых поясов положено универсальное координированное время UTC (всемирное время), от которого зависит время всех часовых поясов. Шкала UTC была введена в 1964 году и устанавливается по атомным часам. Всемирное координированное время UTC, всегда остается независимым ориентиром для всего мира и из которого, зная разницу между своим поясным временем, вы всегда сможете вычислить ваше местное время.
Система поясного времени позволяет легко определять поясное время в любом пункте. Между поясным временем и часовыми поясами имеется определённая зависимость. Разность поясных времён двух пунктов равна разности номеров часовых поясов. Указанное соотношение позволяет определять время в заданном пункте по известному поясному времени другого пункта времени.
Время в заданном пункте будет равно времени пункта, где оно известно, плюс или минус разность номеров часовых поясов. Указанная разность прибавляется к известному поясному времени, если пункт, время которого определяется, расположен к востоку от пункта, время которого известно, а если к западу – вычитается.
В России:
Согласно федеральному закону «О внесении изменений в Федеральный закон «Об исчислении времени»», принятому 1 июля 2014 года, с 26 октября 2014 года московское время соответствует третьему часовому поясу в национальной шкале времени Российской Федерации UTC+3. Установлено 11 часовых зон, соответствующих по международной нумерации часовым поясам со 2-го по 12-й включительно.
1-я часовая зона (МСК-1, московское время минус 1 час, UTC+2): Калининградская область;
2-я часовая зона (МСК, московское время, UTC+3): Республика Адыгея (Адыгея), Республика Дагестан, Республика Ингушетия, Кабардино-Балкарская Республика, Республика Калмыкия, Карачаево-Черкесская Республика, Республика Карелия, Республика Коми, Республика Крым, Республика Марий Эл, Республика Мордовия, Республика Северная Осетия — Алания, Республика Татарстан, Чеченская Республика, Чувашская Республика — Чувашия, Краснодарский край, Ставропольский край, Архангельская область, Астраханская обл., Белгородская область, Брянская область, Владимирская область, Волгоградская область, Вологодская обл., Воронежская область, Ивановская область, Калужская область, Кировская и Костромская обл., Курская область, Ленинградская область, Липецкая обл., Московская область, Мурманская область, Нижегородская обл., Новгородская область, Орловская область, Пензенская область, Псковская область, Ростовская область, Рязанская область, Саратовская область, Смоленская обл., Тамбовская область, Тверская область, Тульская область, Ульяновская область, Ярославская область, Ненецкий автономный округ; города федерального значения — Москва, Санкт-Петербург, Севастополь;
3-я часовая зона(МСК+1, UTC+4): Удмуртская Республика, Самарская область;
4-я часовая зона(МСК+2, UTC+5): Республика Башкортостан, Пермский край, Курганская область, Оренбургская область, Свердловская обл., Тюменская область, Челябинская обл., Ханты-Мансийский и Ямало-Ненецкий автономные округа;
5-я часовая зона(МСК+3, UTC+6): Республика Алтай, Алтайский край, Новосибирская, Омская и Томская обл.;
6-я часовая зона(МСК+4, UTC+7): Республика Тыва, Респ. Хакасия, Красноярский край и Кемеровская область;
7-я часовая зона(МСК+5, UTC+8): Республика Бурятия, Забайкальский край, Иркутская область;
8-я часовая зона(МСК+6, UTC+9): Республика Саха (Якутия) (Алданский, Амгинский, Анабарский, Булунский, Верхневилюйский, Вилюйский, Горный, Жиганский национальный эвенкийский, Кобяйский, Ленский, Мегино-Кангаласский, Мирнинский, Намский, Нерюнгринский, Нюрбинский, Олекминский, Оленекский эвенкийский национальный, Сунтарский, Таттинский, Томпонский, Усть-Алданский, Усть-Майский, Хангаласский, Чурапчинский и Эвено-Бытантайский районы), город Якутск, Амурская область;
9-я часовая зона(МСК+7, UTC+10): Республика Саха (Якутия) (Верхоянский, Оймяконский и Усть-Янский районы), Приморский и Хабаровский край, Магаданская обл., Сахалинская область (Александровск-Сахалинский, Анивский, Долинский, Корсаковский, Курильский, Макаровский, Невельский, Ногликский, Охинский, Поронайский, Смирныховский, Томаринский, Тымовский, Углегорский, Холмский, Южно-Курильский районы), Еврейская автономная область, город Южно-Сахалинск;
10-я часовая зона(МСК+8, UTC+11): Республика Саха (Якутия) (Абыйский, Аллаиховский, Верхнеколымский, Момский, Нижнеколымский и Среднеколымский районы), Сахалинская область (Северо-Курильский район);
11-я часовая зона(МСК+9, UTC+12): Камчатский край, Чукотский автономный округ.
Сигналы точного времени передаются по радио, телевидению и через Интернет в системе UTC.
Так, например, узнать точное время в Москве можно позвонив по номеру 100. Узнать время в интернете http://www.direct-time.ru/
Так как Земля вращается вокруг своей оси, Солнце встаёт и заходит в разных частях нашей планеты в разное время. Но для точек, расположенных на одном меридиане, время одинаково. Это время называют местным.
Местное время — время, определяемое для данного места на Земле; зависит от географической долготы места и одинаково для всех точек на одном меридиане.
Пользоваться местным временем в быту невозможно, так как на каждом меридиане было бы своё собственное время. Для удобства Землю условно поделили на (24) часовых пояса.
Географический часовой пояс — условная полоса на земной поверхности шириной ровно (15°).
Часовые пояса
При переходе из одного часового пояса в другой значения минут и секунд (времени) сохраняются, изменяется лишь значение часов. Хотя существуют некоторые страны, в которых местное время отличается от всемирного не только на целое количество часов, но ещё дополнительно на (30) или (45) мин.
Для того чтобы определить, какова разница во времени между двумя населёнными пунктами или другими географическими точками, необходимо для начала определить, к какому часовому поясу принадлежит каждая из них. После этого осуществить необходимый расчёт будет довольно просто. Например, нам требуется вычислить разницу во времени между Новосибирском и Рио-де-Жанейро. Для этого достаточно знать, что Новосибирск находится в часовом поясе (UTC+7), а Рио-де-Жанейро — (UTC-3). Отсюда следует, что разница во времени между этими городами составляет (10) часов. Например, когда в Новосибирске — (10) часов утра, в Рио наступает полночь. Аналогичным образом можно определить разницу во времени для всех других случаев.
Средним меридианом нулевого часового пояса считается Гринвичский (нулевой) меридиан.
Всемирное время (мировое время) — среднее солнечное время начального меридиана.
В (12)-ом часовом поясе, примерно по меридиану (180°), условно проведена линия перемены дат.
Линия перемены дат — условная линия на поверхности земного шара, проходящая от полюса до полюса, по разные стороны которой местное время различается на сутки.
Время на территориях, которые расположены на запад и восток от этой линии, различается ровно на (24) часа. Каждый пересекающий линию перемены дат с востока на запад должен перевести календарь на один день вперёд.
- Участники первого кругосветного путешествия «потеряли» один день, потому что пересекли линию перемены даты в направлении из Америки в Азию.
- В романе «Вокруг света за (80) дней» Филеас Фогг сначала думал, что проиграл пари, прибыв в Лондон на день позже срока, а на самом деле у него в запасе был один день, так как он пересёк линию перемены даты на пути из Азии в Америку.
Упрощённая иллюстрация связи между линией даты, датой и временем дня. Соседние даты отличаются друг от друга цветом
Источники:
Рис. 1. Часовые пояса. Автор: TimeZonesBoy — US Central Intelligence Agency, Общественное достояние, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=22556731.
Рис. 2. Упрощённая иллюстрация связи между линией даты, датой и временем дня. Автор: Arnaudf — собственная работа, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=16454753.
Когда я начал активно работать с международными клиентами, одним из откровений для меня стал тот факт, что люди постоянно путают разные форматы часовых поясов. Ниже основные советы для тех, кто хочет разобраться в этом бардаке.
Как стоит определять часовой пояс
Существует очень простой стандарт определения часовых поясов — Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). Часовой пояс GMT пролегает в районе Исландии. Знаком и цифрой рядом обозначают, сколько часов отделяет территорию от пояса GMT. Например, в Великобритании GMT+1, в западной Европе GMT+2, в Москве GMT+3, в Нью-Йорке GMT-4, в Индии GMT+5:30.
Это очень простой и удобный способ определения часовых поясов. Всегда можно быстро посчитать разницу во времени между двумя поясами, договариваться о времени используя этот формат крайне просто. Также иногда используется формат UTC, который полностью совпадает с GMT.
Как на самом деле определяют часовой пояс
К сожалению, в реальном мире кроме некоторых азиатских стран, формат GMT не популярен. В большинстве регионов, которые интересны для бизнеса, используются собственные часовые пояса. Вот самые основные из них, с которыми я сталкивался больше всего:
- CET (Central European Time) — Западная Европа
- EST (Eastern Standard Time ) — восточное побережье США (Нью-Йорк)
- PST (Pacific Standard Time) — западное побережье США (Калифорния)
Из-за чего возникает недопонимание
Запомнить популярные часовые пояса несложно, недопонимание чаще всего возникает из-за перевода часов. В Европе и США часы переводят два раза в год, деля год на летнее и зимнее время. Проблема в том, что в отличие от GMT, наименования поясов выше фиксированные и не зависят от перевода часов.
Например, в западной Европе зимой GMT+1, а летом GMT+2. Но CET — фиксированный часовой пояс, аналогичный GMT+1. Таким образом технически летом в Европе CET не наблюдается, вместо него наблюдается CEST (Central European Summer Time). Но вместе с тем CEST практически не пользуются, и европейцы, говоря о своем часовом поясе, все равно говорят «CET».
На практике в 9 случаях из 10, когда говорят CET, имеют в виду время в Западной Европе, как зимой, так и летом. Однако, Google, например, всегда показывает технически верное значение CET — GMT+1 и встречаются люди, которые под CET подразумевают GMT+1 в любое время года.
В США на обоих побережьях точно такая же проблема. На восточном побережье летом наблюдается EDT (Eastern Daylight Time), при этом большинство людей все равно называет его EST. На западном побережье летом наблюдается PDT (Pacific Daylight Time), но все говорят PST. Отсутствие универсальных терминов часто приводит к путанице: как минимум приходится уточнять, как максимум, звонок или встреча назначены на разное время.
Как всегда верно понимать собеседника
- Использовать несколько форматов часовых поясов сразу
- Предлагать созвониться по времени конкретного города, а не часовому поясу
- Спрашивать, в каком городе сейчас собеседник, а не какой у него часовой пояс
- Всегда отправлять собеседнику инвайт в календарь
1 часовая зона
Время МСК-1 (UTC+2)
Калининградское
Калининградская область
2 часовая зона
Время МСК (UTC+3)
Московское
г. Москва
г. Санкт-Петербург
г. Севастополь
Архангельская область
Белгородская область
Брянская область
Владимирская область
Волгоградская область
Вологодская область
Воронежская область
Ивановская область
Калужская область
Кировская область
Костромская область
Курская область
Ленинградская область
Липецкая область
Московская область
Мурманская область
Нижегородская область
Новгородская область
Орловская область
Пензенская область
Псковская область
Ростовская область
Рязанская область
Смоленская область
Тамбовская область
Тверская область
Тульская область
Ярославская область
Краснодарский край
Ставропольский край
Республика Адыгея (Адыгея)
Республика Дагестан
Республика Ингушетия
Кабардино-Балкарская Республика
Республика Калмыкия
Карачаево-Черкесская Республика
Республика Карелия
Республика Коми
Республика Крым
Республика Марий Эл
Республика Мордовия
Республика Северная Осетия — Алания
Республика Татарстан (Татарстан)
Чеченская Республика
Чувашская Республика — Чувашия
Ненецкий автономный округ
3 часовая зона
Время МСК+1 (UTC+4)
Самарское
Астраханская область
Самарская область
Саратовская область
Ульяновская область
Удмуртская Республика
4 часовая зона
Время МСК+2 (UTC+5)
Иркутское
Курганская область
Оренбургская область
Свердловская область
Тюменская область
Челябинская область
Пермский край
Республика Башкортостан
Ханты-Мансийский автономный округ — Югра
Ямало-Ненецкий автономный округ
5 часовая зона
Время МСК+3 (UTC+6)
Омское
Омская область
6 часовая зона
Время МСК+4 (UTC+7)
Красноярское
Кемеровская область
Новосибирская область
Томская область
Алтайский край
Красноярский край
Республика Алтай
Республика Тыва
Республика Хакасия
7 часовая зона
Время МСК+5 (UTC+8)
Калининградское
Иркутская область
Республика Бурятия
8 часовая зона
Время МСК+6 (UTC+9)
Якутское
Республика Саха (Якутия) (г. Якутск, Алданский, Амгинский, Анабарский, Булунский, Верхневилюйский, Вилюйский, Горный, Жиганский национальный эвенкийский, Кобяйский, Ленский, Мегино-Кангаласский, Мирнинский, Намский, Нерюнгринский, Нюрбинский, Олекминский, Оленекский эвенкийский национальный, Сунтарский, Таттинский, Томпонский, Усть-Алданский, Усть-Майский, Хангаласский, Чурапчинский и Эвено-Бытантайский улусы (районы)
Амурская область
Забайкальский край
9 часовая зона
Время МСК+7 (UTC+10)
Владивостокское
Республика Саха (Якутия) (Верхоянский, Оймяконский и Усть-Янский улусы (районы)
Приморский край,
Хабаровский край
Еврейская автономная область
10 часовая зона
Время МСК+8 (UTC+11)
Магаданское
Республика Саха (Якутия) (Абыйский, Аллаиховский, Верхнеколымский, Момский, Нижнеколымский и Среднеколымский улусы (районы)
Магаданская область
Сахалинская область
11 часовая зона
Время МСК+9 (UTC+12)
Камчатское
Камчатский край
Чукотский автономный округ