Time zone
Time zones are areas of the Earth that follow the same definition of time. Formerly, people were using apparent solar time, resulting in the time differing slightly from town to town. Time zones partially rectified the problem by setting the clocks of a region to the same mean solar time. Time zones are generally centered on meridians of a longitude that is a multiple of 15º; however as the map below shows, the shapes of time zones can be quite irregular because of boundaries of countries.
All time zones are defined relative to Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), the time zone containing London.
Time zones were invented by Sanford Fleming in 1884 because of the need of railroad companies to have consistent local times between railroad stations [1].
See also: Sidereal time
File:Timezones small.png
A map of the world's time zones, Larger image
List of time zones and contained areas
Countries with * observe Daylight Saving Time: add 1 in summer.
UTC-11
UTC-10 (HST - Hawaiian Standard Time)
- French Polynesia (Society Archipelago including Tahiti, Tuamotu Archipelago, Tubuai Islands)
- Johnston Atoll
- United States (Hawaii)
- United States (Aleutian Islands of Alaska)*
UTC-9:30
UTC-9 (AKST - Alaska Standard Time)
UTC-8 (PST - Pacific Standard Time)
- Canada (British Columbia*, Yukon*)
- Mexico (Baja California Norte*)
- United States (California*, Idaho (northern)*, Nevada*, Oregon*, Washington*)
UTC-7 (MST - Mountain Standard Time)
- Canada (Alberta*, Northwest Territories*, Nunavut (Mountain)*)
- Mexico (Baja California Sur, Chihuahua, Nayarit, Sinaloa, Sonora, South, Central, and Eastern)
- United States (Arizona, Colorado*, Idaho (southern)*, Montana*, Nebraska (western)*, New Mexico*, North Dakota (western)*, South Dakota (western)*, Utah*, Wyoming*)
UTC-6 (CST - Central Standard Time)
- Belize
- Canada (Manitoba*, Nunavut (Southampton Island), Nunavut (Central)*, Ontario (Western)*, Saskatchewan)
- Chile (Easter Island)
- Costa Rica
- Ecuador (Galapagos Islands)
- El Salvador
- Guatemala
- Honduras
- Nicaragua
- Puerto Rico
- United States (Alabama*, Arkansas*, Illinois*, Iowa*, Kansas*, Kentucky (western)*, Louisiana*, Minnesota*, Mississippi*, Missouri*, Nebraska (eastern)*, North Dakota*, Oklahoma*, South Dakota (eastern)*, Tennessee (western)*, Texas*, Wisconsin*)
UTC-5 (EST - Eastern Standard Time)
- Brazil (Acre)
- Canada (Nunavut (Eastern)*, Ontario*, Quebec*)
- Cayman Islands
- Colombia
- Cuba*
- Ecuador
- Haiti
- Jamaica
- Panama
- Peru
- Turks and Caicos Islands*
- United States (Connecticut*, Delaware*, District of Columbia*, Florida*, Georgia*, Indiana, Kentucky (eastern)*, Maine*, Maryland*, Massachusetts*, Michigan*, New Hampshire*, New Jersey*, New York*, North Carolina*, Ohio*, Pennsylvania*, Rhode Island*, South Carolina*, Tennessee (eastern)*, Vermont*, Virginia*, West Virginia*)
UTC-4 (AST - Atlantic Standard Time)
- Anguilla
- Antigua and Barbuda
- Aruba
- Barbados
- Bolivia
- Brazil (Amazonas, Mato Grosso*, Mato Grosso do Sul*, Para (western), Rondonia, Roraima)
- Canada (Labrador*, New Brunswick*, Nova Scotia*, Prince Edward Island*)
- Chile*
- Dominica
- Dominican Republic
- Falkland Islands*
- Grenada
- Guadeloupe
- Guyana
- Martinique
- Montserrat
- Netherlands Antilles
- Paraguay*
- Saint Kitts and Nevis
- Saint Lucia
- Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
- Trinidad and Tobago
- Venezuela
- Virgin Islands
UTC-3:30 (NST - Newfoundland Standard Time)
UTC-3
- Argentina
- Bahamas*
- Brazil (Alagoas, Amapa, Bahia*, Ceara, Distrito Federal*, Espirto Santo*, Goias*, Maranhao, Minas Gerais*, Para (eastern), Paraiba, Parana*, Pernambuco, Piaui, Rio de Janeiro*, Rio Grande do Norte, Rio Grande do Sul*, Santa Catarina*, Sao Paulo*, Sergipe, Tocantins*)
- French Guiana*
- Greenland
- Saint Pierre and Miquelon*
- Suriname
- Uruguay
UTC-2
UTC-1
UTC (WET - Western European Time, also called GMT)
- Burkina Faso
- Côte d'Ivoire
- Faroe Islands*
- The Gambia
- Ghana
- Guinea
- Guinea-Bissau
- Iceland
- Ireland*
- Liberia
- Mali
- Mauritania
- Morocco
- Portugal*
- Saint Helena
- Sao Tome and Principe
- Senegal
- Sierra Leone
- Spain* (Canary Islands)
- Togo
- United Kingdom*
UTC+1 (CET - Central European Time, also called MET - Middle European Time)
- Albania*
- Andorra*
- Angola
- Austria*
- Belgium*
- Benin
- Bosnia and Herzegovina*
- Cameroon
- Central African Republic
- Chad
- Congo, Republic of the
- Congo, Democratic Republic of the (Kinshasa, Bandungu, Bas-Zaire, Equateur)
- Croatia*
- Czech Republic*
- Denmark*
- Equatorial Guinea
- Republic of Macedonia*
- France*
- Gabon
- Germany*
- Gibraltar*
- Hungary*
- Italy*
- Liechtenstein*
- Luxembourg*
- Malta*
- Monaco*
- Montenegro*
- Namibia*
- Netherlands*
- Niger
- Nigeria
- Norway*
- Poland*
- San Marino*
- Serbia*
- Slovakia*
- Slovenia*
- Spain*
- Svalbard and Jan Mayen*
- Sweden*
- Switzerland*
- Tunisia
UTC+2 (EET - Eastern European Time)
- Belarus*
- Botswana
- Bulgaria*
- Burundi
- Congo, Democratic Republic of the (Kasai Occidental, Kasai Oriental, Haut-Zaire, Shaba)
- Cyprus*
- Egypt*
- Estonia
- Finland*
- Gaza Strip*
- Greece*
- Israel*
- Jordan
- Latvia*
- Lebanon*
- Lesotho
- Libya
- Lithuania
- Malawi
- Moldova*
- Mozambique
- Romania*
- Russia (Zone 1*, including Kalingrad)
- Rwanda
- South Africa
- Swaziland
- Syria*
- Turkey*
- Ukraine*
- West Bank*
- Zambia
- Zimbabwe
UTC+3 (MST - Moscow Time)
- Bahrain
- Comoros
- Djibouti
- Eritrea
- Ethiopia
- Iraq*
- Kenya
- Kuwait
- Madagascar
- Mayotte
- Qatar
- Russia (Zone 2*, including Moscow and St. Petersburg)
- Saudi Arabia
- Somalia
- Sudan
- Tanzania
- Uganda
- Yemen
UTC+3:30
- Iran*
UTC+4
- Georgia*
- Kazakhstan (Western)*
- Mauritius
- Oman
- Reunion
- Russia (Zone 3*)
- Seychelles
- United Arab Emirates
UTC+4:30
UTC+5
- Armenia
- Azerbaijan*
- Kazakhstan (Central)*
- Kyrgyzstan*
- Maldives
- Pakistan
- Russia (Zone 4*, including Ekaterinburg and Perm)
- Tajikistan
- Turkmenistan
- Uzbekistan
UTC+5:30
UTC+5:45
UTC+6
- Bangladesh
- Bhutan
- Kazakhstan (Eastern)*
- Russia (Zone 5*, including Novosibirsk and Omsk)
- Sri Lanka
UTC+6:30
UTC+7
UTC+8 (AWST - Australian Western Standard Time)
- Australia (Western Australia)
- Brunei Darussalam
- Mainland China
- Hong Kong
- Indonesia (Central)
- Macau
- Malaysia
- Mongolia*
- Philippines
- Russia (Zone 7*)
- Singapore
- Taiwan
Note that the whole of China has the same time, which makes this time zone exceptionally wide. In the extreme west of China the sun is at its highest at 3 pm, in the extreme east at 11 am.
UTC+9
- East Timor
- Indonesia (Eastern)
- Japan (JST - Japan Standard Time)
- North Korea
- South Korea
- Palau
- Russia (Zone 8*, including Yakutsk)
UTC+9:30 (ACST - Australian Central Standard Time)
UTC+10 (AEST - Australian Eastern Standard Time)
- Australia (Australian Capital Territory*, New South Wales*, Queensland, Victoria*, Tasmania*)
- Cook Islands
- Guam
- Federated States of Micronesia (Yap and Chuuk)
- Northern Mariana Islands
- Papua New Guinea
- Russia (Zone 9*, including Vladivostok)
UTC+10:30
- Australia (Lord Howe Island*)(DST only 0:30)
UTC+11
- Federated States of Micronesia (Kosrae and Pohnpei)
- New Caledonia
- Russia (Zone 10*)
- Solomon Islands
- Vanuatu
UTC+11:30
UTC+12
- Fiji*
- Kiribati (Gilbert Islands)
- Marshall Islands
- Nauru
- New Zealand (Aotearoa)*
- Russia (Zone 11*)
- Tuvalu
- Wake Island
- Wallis and Futuna
UTC+12:45
UTC+13
UTC+14