Time zone abbreviations
What the short names mean, their UTC offset, and where you will see them.
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Abbreviations are handy but ambiguous: CST and IST each mean three different things. When a time matters, write the UTC offset or the city as well.
| Abbr. | Name | Offset | Used in |
|---|---|---|---|
| EST | Eastern Standard Time | UTC−05:00 | US and Canada east, winter |
| EDT | Eastern Daylight Time | UTC−04:00 | US and Canada east, summer |
| CST | Central Standard Time | UTC−06:00 | US and Canada central, Mexico City |
| CDT | Central Daylight Time | UTC−05:00 | US and Canada central, summer |
| MST | Mountain Standard Time | UTC−07:00 | US mountain winter, Arizona all year |
| MDT | Mountain Daylight Time | UTC−06:00 | US and Canada mountain, summer |
| PST | Pacific Standard Time | UTC−08:00 | US and Canada west, winter |
| PDT | Pacific Daylight Time | UTC−07:00 | US and Canada west, summer |
| AKST | Alaska Standard Time | UTC−09:00 | Alaska, winter |
| HST | Hawaii Standard Time | UTC−10:00 | Hawaii, all year |
| GMT | Greenwich Mean Time | UTC | UK and Ireland winter, West Africa |
| BST | British Summer Time | UTC+01:00 | United Kingdom, summer |
| CET | Central European Time | UTC+01:00 | Paris, Berlin, Rome, winter |
| CEST | Central European Summer Time | UTC+02:00 | Central Europe, summer |
| EET | Eastern European Time | UTC+02:00 | Athens, Helsinki, Cairo, winter |
| MSK | Moscow Time | UTC+03:00 | Moscow, all year |
| GST | Gulf Standard Time | UTC+04:00 | Dubai, Muscat |
| PKT | Pakistan Standard Time | UTC+05:00 | Pakistan |
| IST | India Standard Time | UTC+05:30 | India and Sri Lanka |
| NPT | Nepal Time | UTC+05:45 | Nepal |
| ICT | Indochina Time | UTC+07:00 | Bangkok, Hanoi |
| SGT | Singapore Time | UTC+08:00 | Singapore |
| CST | China Standard Time | UTC+08:00 | China |
| JST | Japan Standard Time | UTC+09:00 | Japan |
| KST | Korea Standard Time | UTC+09:00 | South Korea |
| AEST | Australian Eastern Standard Time | UTC+10:00 | Sydney, Melbourne winter; Brisbane all year |
| AEDT | Australian Eastern Daylight Time | UTC+11:00 | Sydney, Melbourne summer |
| NZST | New Zealand Standard Time | UTC+12:00 | New Zealand, winter |
| NZDT | New Zealand Daylight Time | UTC+13:00 | New Zealand, summer |
Summer abbreviations (EDT, BST, CEST, AEDT, NZDT) only apply while daylight saving time is in effect. For any city’s abbreviation right now, search it on the world time map.
Questions
- What is the difference between EST and EDT?
- EST (UTC−05:00) is the US Eastern winter time; EDT (UTC−04:00) is the summer time. Saying “Eastern Time” or ET covers both.
- What does IST stand for?
- Most often India Standard Time, UTC+05:30. It is also used for Irish Standard Time (UTC+01:00, summer) and Israel Standard Time (UTC+02:00), so name the country when it matters.
- Is CST China or Central time?
- Both use CST: Central Standard Time is UTC−06:00, China Standard Time is UTC+08:00. Write the offset or the city to avoid a 14-hour mistake.