Online time zone converters

Many land time zones are skewed toward the west of the corresponding nautical time zones. This also creates a permanent daylight saving time effect. Coordinated Universal Time abbreviated to UTC is the primary time standard by which the world regulates clocks and time. At different times in the past, it has been calculated in different ways, including being calculated from noon;[1] as a consequence, it cannot be used to specify a precise time unless a context is given.

Current Time. What is Time Zone A time zone is a region of the globe that observes a uniform standard time for legal, commercial, and social purposes. However, in , the United States began to use four standard time zones and in Britain sought to gain international acceptance for time zones around the world.

Scientists created the time zone map by studying how the Earth moves. After realizing that it spins on an axis, it was noted that the Earth rotates about 15 degrees every 60 minutes. It makes a total rotation of degrees in 24 hours.

Consequently, the time zone map was created by separating the Earth into 24 sections, with each section representing a time zone. They are 15 degrees of longitude wide to account for the distance of the rotation per hour.

Because of the spherical shape of the Earth, the time zones are not the same distance apart. They are the widest near the equator and zero at the North and South poles. The imaginary beginning of the time zone map is in Greenwich, a suburb in London that sits atop longitude zero.

But why is this important? Having 24 different time zones on Earth means that wherever in the world you are, noon is the middle of the day when the sun is the highest while midnight is the middle of the night. However, those times will not occur simultaneously in all parts of the world.

Just as the sun is setting in London, it will be rising over your friends in Auckland. How come? In addition to different time zones and different time offsets around the globe, exact time also depends on whether the particular country or region observes the daylight saving time or not. Daylight saving time is a system used to make use of the daylight hours during the summer months: in countries that observe the DST, clocks are moved forward in spring usually by one hour so that people can enjoy more hours of sunlight.

In the fall, the clocks are moved back an hour to account for shorter days. Daylight saving time was first introduced in wartime Germany in an effort to save energy, and its use quickly spread around the world.

Currently, over 70 countries around the world observe daylight saving time changes, although not everybody is happy about it: Europeans and Americans in particular wish the DST to be abolished, as recent surveys suggest. Once again, to avoid confusion, the time zone converter tool is the simplest solution: it automatically adjusts for DST differences and gives you an instant result. Knowing your time zones is essential if you work or communicate with people around the world — but it can also be fun.

For example, you can use a time zone converter tool to find out just how many birthdays you can have: because of the time zone differences, you can celebrate your birthday with a breakfast in Paris, then fly to New York to have a birthday brunch, and then head to Hawaii for a birthday party. Because of the negative time offset heading West, you can keep celebrating your birthday over and over. Equally, you can fly into…tomorrow.