About time zones
The world is split into time zones so that local clocks roughly match daylight. Each zone is defined by its offset from Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). Many places in North America and Europe also move their clocks forward an hour in summer for daylight saving time, while most of Asia, Africa and South America do not.
U.S. time zones
| Zone | IANA name (example) | Winter | Summer |
|---|
| Eastern | America/New_York | UTC−5 | UTC−4 |
| Central | America/Chicago | UTC−6 | UTC−5 |
| Mountain | America/Denver | UTC−7 | UTC−6 |
| Arizona | America/Phoenix | UTC−7 | UTC−7 |
| Pacific | America/Los_Angeles | UTC−8 | UTC−7 |
| Alaska | America/Anchorage | UTC−9 | UTC−8 |
| Hawaii | Pacific/Honolulu | UTC−10 | UTC−10 |
European time zones
| Zone | Countries (examples) | Winter | Summer |
|---|
| Western (WET / GMT) | UK, Ireland, Portugal | UTC+0 | UTC+1 |
| Central (CET) | France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Poland | UTC+1 | UTC+2 |
| Eastern (EET) | Greece, Finland, Romania, Ukraine | UTC+2 | UTC+3 |
Need to know the time somewhere else? Use the time zone converter.
Last reviewed October 2026.
Frequently asked questions
How does this page know my time zone?
It reads the time zone setting from your device through your browser. Nothing is looked up from your IP address and nothing is sent anywhere, so the answer matches whatever your computer or phone is set to.
Why is the time zone shown wrong?
This page shows your device's setting. If it is wrong, your device clock is probably set to the wrong zone or set manually. Turn on "set time zone automatically" in your system settings, or choose the correct zone yourself.
What is the IANA time zone name?
Names like America/Chicago or Europe/Berlin come from the IANA time zone database. They are more precise than abbreviations like CST, which can mean different things in different countries, and they include each place's daylight saving history.
Am I on daylight saving time right now?
The page compares your current UTC offset with the offsets in January and July. If your zone uses daylight saving and the current offset is the larger one, daylight saving time is in effect.
What is my UTC offset?
Your UTC offset is how many hours (and sometimes minutes) your local time is ahead of or behind Coordinated Universal Time. It is shown at the top of the results, for example UTC−5 or UTC+5:30.