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WORLD CLOCK &
TIME ZONES

Welcome to the Global Timezone page, where you can explore and interact with time zones from all around the world. This interactive map provides an easy-to-understand view of time differences across countries and regions. Hover over or click on any marker to see the local time, timezone name, and its corresponding UTC offset. Whether you're coordinating across multiple time zones for business or simply curious about the time elsewhere, this tool provides real-time, accurate data. Our goal is to make understanding global time differences simple and accessible. Start exploring the world’s timezones now!

INTERACTIVE GLOBE WITH LIVE TIMEZONES

Explore the world’s time zones—hover or click to find out the current local time for any location.

1) Use Mouse Scroll - Zoom in
2) Use Mouse Scroll - Zoom out
3) Click & Drag - Rotate Globe
4) Hover" or "Click & Hold" on Marker - Show Timezone's & Current Time

1) Pinch In - Zoom in
2) Pinch Out - Zoom out
3) Touch & Drag - Rotate Globe
4) Touch & Hold on Marker - Show Timezone's & Current Time

Select a Country to check it's Timezone:

Timezone

Date:

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Day:

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Time:

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LIVE TIME AT DIFFERENT TIMEZONES

New Delhi, India

(GMT +5:30)

Los Angeles, USA

(GMT -7:00)

Paris, France

(GMT +2:00)

Moscow, Russia

(GMT +3:00)

Seoul, South Korea

(GMT +9:00)

New York, USA

(GMT -4:00)

Hong Kong

(GMT +8:00)

Rome, Italy

(GMT +2:00)

Dubai, UAE

(GMT +4:00)

Singapore

(GMT +8:00)

Tokyo, Japan

(GMT +9:00)

Sydney, Australia

(GMT +10:00)

Shanghai, China

(GMT +8:00)

São Paulo, Brazil

(GMT -3:00)

Mexico City, Mexico

(GMT -6:00)

London, UK

(GMT +1:00)

Berlin, Germany

(GMT +2:00)

Toronto, Canada

(GMT -4:00)

Istanbul, Turkey

(GMT +3:00)

Cape Town, South Africa

(GMT +2:00)

Jakarta, Indonesia

(GMT +7:00)

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

(GMT +3:00)

Madrid, Spain

(GMT +2:00)

Nairobi, Kenya

(GMT +3:00)

How to use 3D Globe?

Explore the Globe:  

  • Drag to Rotate: Click and hold your mouse button (or touch on mobile) anywhere on the globe to rotate it. This will allow you to explore different regions of the world.

  • Zoom In/Out: Scroll your mouse wheel (or pinch on mobile) to zoom in and out of the globe. Zooming in will help you get closer to specific cities or regions, while zooming out gives you a global view.

Interactive Markers:

Hover Over Markers: The globe contains markers that represent major cities around the world. Hover over any marker (or tap on mobile) to reveal information about that city.

  • City Name: The name of the city will appear, showing you the location you're hovering over.

  • Timezone Information: The tooltip will also show the timezone (e.g., "GMT +2") for that city.

  • Local Time: You will see the local time in real-time for each city as you hover over it.

Real-Time Updates:

  • Stay Updated: The local time in the tooltip will update in real-time. As the seconds pass, the local time for the selected city will refresh so you can track the current time across different locations.

User-Friendly Controls:

  • Auto-Rotation: The globe rotates automatically, but you can stop the rotation by clicking and holding on the globe to take control.

  • Smooth Interaction: Enjoy a seamless experience with smooth transitions and responsive controls as you interact with the globe.

What is a timezone, and why do we have different timezones across the world?

A timezone is a geographical region that observes the same standard time, which is usually defined relative to Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). The reason for different timezones is due to the Earth's rotation. The Earth is divided into 24 primary timezones, each roughly 15 degrees of longitude apart, because the Earth rotates 360 degrees in 24 hours. As a result, one full rotation takes about 24 hours, and the Earth completes one timezone shift every hour.

 

Key Points:

  • Earth’s Rotation: The Earth rotates once every 24 hours, and the sunlight falls on different parts of the Earth at different times. Hence, time is divided so that each part of the Earth has a time aligned with the position of the sun.

  • Standardization: Timezones ensure that people are working and operating within a time schedule aligned with local daylight, making life more predictable and organized.

  • Political Influence: While timezones are based on the Earth’s longitude, political boundaries like countries and regions often adjust timezones to better fit their administrative and cultural needs. For example, some countries like India have a single timezone despite spanning multiple degrees of longitude.

  • Daylight Hours: Different timezones ensure that people wake up and sleep at roughly the same time relative to the sun. This alignment helps maintain the biological rhythms of day and night.

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Why Timezones Are Necessary:

  • Local Time Alignment: Without timezones, it would be chaotic since everyone would have the same time, but the sun would be at different positions in the sky for each location.

  • Organizing Global Activities: Timezones help in scheduling events, from business meetings to international flights, ensuring that everyone knows the exact time of the activity in their local time.

What is UTC, and how is it different from GMT?

UTC (Coordinated Universal Time) and GMT (Greenwich Mean Time) are both used as reference times, but they differ in their scientific and practical applications.

 

Key Differences:

  • UTC (Coordinated Universal Time) is a time standard based on highly accurate atomic clocks and the Earth’s rotation. It is the time standard used worldwide for coordinating time across different timezones.

  • GMT (Greenwich Mean Time) refers to the time at the Prime Meridian (0 degrees longitude) in Greenwich, London, and was historically used to measure time before atomic clocks became widely available.

 

Key Points:

  • Accuracy: UTC is defined by a combination of atomic time (from atomic clocks) and astronomical time (Earth’s rotation), making it more precise than GMT, which is based purely on Earth’s rotation.

  • Adjustments: UTC is adjusted with leap seconds as necessary to keep it synchronized with the Earth’s irregular rotation, while GMT does not have these adjustments.

  • Practical Use: GMT is more of a historical reference, while UTC is the global standard for time measurement. UTC is what is typically used for international communication and computing systems.

Why do some regions observe Daylight Saving Time (DST), and how does it affect timezones?

Daylight Saving Time (DST) is the practice of moving the clock forward by one hour during the warmer months (usually spring and summer) to take advantage of extended daylight hours. The idea is that people can make better use of daylight and save energy by adjusting their schedule. This is particularly relevant in temperate regions where there is a significant variation in daylight throughout the year.

 

Key Points:

  • History: The idea of DST was first proposed by Benjamin Franklin in 1784, but it became widely adopted during World War I and World War II to conserve energy.

  • Mechanism: During the DST period, clocks are moved forward by one hour (often in the spring), and they are set back again (falling back) at the end of the period. This results in longer daylight during the evening hours.

  • Effects on Timezones: When a region adopts DST, it temporarily shifts to a different timezone relative to UTC. For instance, New York, which is in the Eastern Standard Time (EST) zone (UTC-5), switches to Eastern Daylight Time (EDT, UTC-4) during DST.

 

Why Some Regions Don’t Observe DST:

  • Geographic Location: Countries closer to the equator experience relatively equal day and night lengths throughout the year, making DST unnecessary.

  • Energy Concerns: Some regions have concluded that the energy savings from DST are minimal and that the disruption to daily life outweighs the benefits.

  • Public Opinion and Costs: In some countries, the public has opposed DST due to health effects like disrupted sleep patterns, leading to its discontinuation (e.g., some parts of the U.S. and European countries).

What are the challenges in calculating time across different timezones?

Calculating time across different timezones can be complex due to several factors, including Daylight Saving Time (DST), leap years, and the variations in UTC offsets.

 

Key Challenges:

  • Time Zone Differences: Each timezone can differ from UTC by whole or fractional hours, and some countries even use 30-minute or 45-minute offsets (e.g., India Standard Time is UTC+5:30). This adds complexity when converting times.

  • DST Adjustments: Not all countries observe DST, and those that do often start and end DST on different dates. This means that a city in a timezone might shift its offset at different times each year, complicating calculations.

  • Leap Seconds: The Earth’s rotation is not perfectly regular, so leap seconds are occasionally added to UTC to keep it synchronized with the Earth’s rotation. This does not affect GMT, making UTC the more reliable choice for timekeeping.

  • Multiple Timezone Regions: Some large countries (e.g., Russia, the USA) span multiple timezones, and knowing which timezone is in effect for a specific location at a given moment requires precise knowledge of the local timezone laws.

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Solutions for Timezone Calculations:

  • Time Libraries: Software libraries like moment-timezone or the Intl.DateTimeFormat API in JavaScript can help manage timezone conversions.

  • Time Zone Databases: Databases like the IANA Time Zone Database keep track of all global timezones and daylight saving changes.

What are half-hour and quarter-hour timezones, and where are they used?

In addition to the standard one-hour offsets from UTC, some regions use half-hour or quarter-hour timezones. These timezones use offsets of 30 minutes or 15 minutes relative to UTC instead of a whole hour.

 

Key Points:

  • Half-Hour Timezones: These are timezones with a UTC offset of 30 minutes, and they are primarily used in countries like India (UTC+5:30), Sri Lanka (UTC+5:30), Iran (UTC+3:30), and Newfoundland, Canada (UTC-3:30).

  • Quarter-Hour Timezones: These timezones have a 15-minute offset from UTC, such as India’s neighboring country, Nepal, which operates on UTC+5:45.

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Reasons for Half-Hour and Quarter-Hour Timezones:

  • Geographical Reasons: Countries and regions that have a large east-west span may adopt half-hour or quarter-hour offsets to better reflect the position of the sun relative to the location of their cities.

  • Historical Reasons: Some of these unusual timezones reflect a country’s historical decision to better suit its local needs or practices. For instance, India and Sri Lanka have used their 30-minute offset since the early 20th century.

How do timezones affect global business and communication?

The globalization of business and communication means that people are frequently working across different timezones. Understanding timezones is crucial for scheduling meetings, managing international teams, and coordinating global operations.

 

Key Points:

  • Coordinating Meetings: When scheduling meetings across timezones, it's important to consider not only the time differences but also Daylight Saving Time changes. Tools like World Time Buddy or Google Calendar can help manage time differences by automatically adjusting for timezones.

  • Global Financial Markets: Financial markets in different timezones (e.g., the New York Stock Exchange vs. the Tokyo Stock Exchange) operate on local time, and being aware of the opening and closing times is critical for traders.

  • Customer Service: Global businesses often need to provide 24/7 customer support. Companies with customers around the world use time zone management tools to ensure that someone is available for support, regardless of the customer’s time zone.

  • Software Development: Developers working on applications that handle time need to handle timezone differences carefully to ensure accurate time display. This is especially important for transactions, timestamps, and scheduling events.

 

Best Practices for Timezone Management:

  • Use UTC Internally: It’s best to store all timestamps in UTC internally and convert to local time only when displaying the time to users.

  • Automated Scheduling Tools: Use software that adjusts for timezones automatically, especially when dealing with a large number of international teams.

Stay informed about global timezones! Explore our interactive world map and check the local time and timezone information for cities around the world in real-time!

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