Time zones

How to use the map

Each color on the map groups places that have the same time right now. Hover or tap any point to see the local time and the offset from UTC, the world reference time.

To compare cities, type the name in the field above the map or tap the desired place. Each city becomes a clock in the list at the side, showing the time difference from where you are.

The dark band is the part of Earth that is night right now. It is calculated from the Sun’s position and moves across the map during the day.

What time zones are

The Earth turns once on its axis every 24 hours. For that reason the world was divided into strips of about 15 degrees of longitude, and each strip differs by one hour from its neighbor.

In practice, time zone borders follow country and state boundaries, not straight map lines. Each government chooses the official time for its territory, and some large countries use a single time, like China.

There are also places with half‑hour or 45‑minute offsets, such as India, Iran, Nepal and the island of Newfoundland in Canada. On the map they appear in their own color.

Time zones in Brazil

Brazil has four time zones. Brasília time, three hours behind UTC, applies to most of the country, including the South, Southeast and Northeast regions.

Fernando de Noronha and other Atlantic islands are one hour ahead of Brasília. Much of the North and the Central-West, such as Mato Grosso, Rondônia and Amazonas, are one hour behind, and Acre and western Amazonas are two hours behind.

Brazil has not observed daylight saving time since 2019. When other countries move their clocks forward or back, the time difference with Brazil changes, and the tool already shows the correct time for each place.

The International Date Line

In the middle of the Pacific Ocean lies the International Date Line. Crossing it westward advances the calendar by one day; crossing eastward moves the calendar back one day.

That is why some nearby places on the map can be on different calendar days. In the clocks list, the tool shows the weekday and date for each city.