Abbreviations: Time Zones

Worldwide

Time zone abbreviations are used to represent the different time zones around the world. They are typically three or four letters long, and they are often used in conjunction with UTC (Coordinated Universal Time) offsets.

Disclaimer: a comprehensive list of abbreviations has been published, which we have compiled from various open sources, including government websites and encyclopedias. We would like to draw your attention to the explanation below the table, which explains why it is important to use these abbreviations carefully in important matters.

AbbrTime ZoneUTC/GMT
ACDTAustralian Central Daylight Saving TimeUTC+10:30
ACSTAustralian Central Standard TimeUTC+09:30
ACTASEAN Common TimeUTC+08:00
ACWSTAustralian Central Western Standard Time (unofficial)UTC+08:45
ADTAtlantic Daylight TimeUTC−03
AEDTAustralian Eastern Daylight Saving TimeUTC+11
AESTAustralian Eastern Standard TimeUTC+10
AFTAfghanistan TimeUTC+04:30
AKDTAlaska Daylight TimeUTC−08
AKSTAlaska Standard TimeUTC−09
ALMTAlma-Ata TimeUTC+06
AMSTAmazon Summer Time (Brazil)UTC−03
AMTArmenia TimeUTC+04
ANATAnadyr TimeUTC+12
AQTTAqtobe TimeUTC+05
ARTArgentina TimeUTC−03
ASTAtlantic Standard TimeUTC−04
AWSTAustralian Western Standard TimeUTC+08
AZOSTAzores Summer TimeUTC±00
AZOTAzores Standard TimeUTC−01
AZTAzerbaijan TimeUTC+04
BNTBrunei TimeUTC+08
BIOTBritish Indian Ocean TimeUTC+06
BITBaker Island TimeUTC−12
BOTBolivia TimeUTC−04
BRSTBrasília Summer TimeUTC−02
BRTBrasília TimeUTC−03
BSTBritish Summer Time (British Standard Time from Mar 1968 to Oct 1971)UTC+01
BTTBhutan TimeUTC+06
CATCentral Africa TimeUTC+02
CCTCocos Islands TimeUTC+06:30
CDTCuba Daylight TimeUTC−04
CESTCentral European Summer TimeUTC+02
CETCentral European TimeUTC+01
CHADTChatham Daylight TimeUTC+13:45
CHASTChatham Standard TimeUTC+12:45
CHOTChoibalsan Standard TimeUTC+08
CHOSTChoibalsan Summer TimeUTC+09
CHSTChamorro Standard TimeUTC+10
CHUTChuuk TimeUTC+10
CISTClipperton Island Standard TimeUTC−08
CKTCook Island TimeUTC−10
CLSTChile Summer TimeUTC−03
CLTChile Standard TimeUTC−04
COSTColombia Summer TimeUTC−04
COTColombia TimeUTC−05
CSTCuba Standard TimeUTC−05
CVTCape Verde TimeUTC−01
CWSTCentral Western Standard Time (Australia) unofficialUTC+08:45
CXTChristmas Island TimeUTC+07
DAVTDavis TimeUTC+07
DDUTDumont d'Urville TimeUTC+10
DFTAIX-specific equivalent of Central European TimeUTC+01
EASSTEaster Island Summer TimeUTC−05
EASTEaster Island Standard TimeUTC−06
EATEast Africa TimeUTC+03
ECTEcuador TimeUTC−05
EDTEastern Daylight Time (North America)UTC−04
EESTEastern European Summer TimeUTC+03
EETEastern European TimeUTC+02
EGSTEastern Greenland Summer TimeUTC±00
EGTEastern Greenland TimeUTC−01
ESTEastern Standard Time (North America)UTC−05
FETFurther-eastern European TimeUTC+03
FJTFiji TimeUTC+12
FKSTFalkland Islands Summer TimeUTC−03
FKTFalkland Islands TimeUTC−04
FNTFernando de Noronha TimeUTC−02
GALTGalápagos TimeUTC−06
GAMTGambier Islands TimeUTC−09
GETGeorgia Standard TimeUTC+04
GFTFrench Guiana TimeUTC−03
GILTGilbert Island TimeUTC+12
GITGambier Island TimeUTC−09
GMTGreenwich Mean TimeUTC±00
GSTGulf Standard TimeUTC+04
GYTGuyana TimeUTC−04
HDTHawaii–Aleutian Daylight TimeUTC−09
HAECHeure Avancée d'Europe Centrale French-language name for CESTUTC+02
HSTHawaii–Aleutian Standard TimeUTC−10
HKTHong Kong TimeUTC+08
HMTHeard and McDonald Islands TimeUTC+05
HOVSTHovd Summer Time (not used from 2017-present)UTC+08
HOVTHovd TimeUTC+07
ICTIndochina TimeUTC+07
IDLWInternational Date Line West time zoneUTC−12
IDTIsrael Daylight TimeUTC+03
IOTIndian Ocean TimeUTC+03
IRDTIran Daylight TimeUTC+04:30
IRKTIrkutsk TimeUTC+08
IRSTIran Standard TimeUTC+03:30
ISTIsrael Standard TimeUTC+02
JSTJapan Standard TimeUTC+09
KALTKaliningrad TimeUTC+02
KGTKyrgyzstan TimeUTC+06
KOSTKosrae TimeUTC+11
KRATKrasnoyarsk TimeUTC+07
KSTKorea Standard TimeUTC+09
LHSTLord Howe Summer TimeUTC+11
LINTLine Islands TimeUTC+14
MAGTMagadan TimeUTC+12
MARTMarquesas Islands TimeUTC−09:30
MAWTMawson Station TimeUTC+05
MDTMountain Daylight Time (North America)UTC−06
METMiddle European Time (same zone as CET)UTC+01
MESTMiddle European Summer Time (same zone as CEST)UTC+02
MHTMarshall Islands TimeUTC+12
MISTMacquarie Island Station TimeUTC+11
MITMarquesas Islands TimeUTC−09:30
MMTMyanmar Standard TimeUTC+06:30
MSKMoscow TimeUTC+03
MSTMountain Standard Time (North America)UTC−07
MUTMauritius TimeUTC+04
MVTMaldives TimeUTC+05
MYTMalaysia TimeUTC+08
NCTNew Caledonia TimeUTC+11
NDTNewfoundland Daylight TimeUTC−02:30
NFTNorfolk Island TimeUTC+11
NOVTNovosibirsk TimeUTC+07
NPTNepal TimeUTC+05:45
NSTNewfoundland Standard TimeUTC−03:30
NTNewfoundland TimeUTC−03:30
NUTNiue TimeUTC−11
NZDTNew Zealand Daylight TimeUTC+13
NZSTNew Zealand Standard TimeUTC+12
OMSTOmsk TimeUTC+06
ORATOral TimeUTC+05
PDTPacific Daylight Time (North America)UTC−07
PETPeru TimeUTC−05
PETTKamchatka TimeUTC+12
PGTPapua New Guinea TimeUTC+10
PHOTPhoenix Island TimeUTC+13
PHTPhilippine TimeUTC+08
PHSTPhilippine Standard TimeUTC+08
PKTPakistan Standard TimeUTC+05
PMDTSaint Pierre and Miquelon Daylight TimeUTC−02
PMSTSaint Pierre and Miquelon Standard TimeUTC−03
PONTPohnpei Standard TimeUTC+11
PSTPacific Standard Time (North America)UTC−08
PWTPalau TimeUTC+09
PYSTParaguay Summer TimeUTC−03
PYTParaguay TimeUTC−04
RETRéunion TimeUTC+04
ROTTRothera Research Station TimeUTC−03
SAKTSakhalin Island TimeUTC+11
SAMTSamara TimeUTC+04
SASTSouth African Standard TimeUTC+02
SBTSolomon Islands TimeUTC+11
SCTSeychelles TimeUTC+04
SDTSamoa Daylight TimeUTC−10
SGTSingapore TimeUTC+08
SLSTSri Lanka Standard TimeUTC+05:30
SRETSrednekolymsk TimeUTC+11
SRTSuriname TimeUTC−03
SSTSingapore Standard TimeUTC+08
SYOTShowa Station TimeUTC+03
TAHTTahiti TimeUTC−10
THAThailand Standard TimeUTC+07
TFTFrench Southern and Antarctic TimeUTC+05
TJTTajikistan TimeUTC+05
TKTTokelau TimeUTC+13
TLTTimor Leste TimeUTC+09
TMTTurkmenistan TimeUTC+05
TRTTurkey TimeUTC+03
TOTTonga TimeUTC+13
TSTTaiwan Standard TimeUTC+08
TVTTuvalu TimeUTC+12
ULASTUlaanbaatar Summer TimeUTC+09
ULATUlaanbaatar Standard TimeUTC+08
UTCCoordinated Universal TimeUTC±00
UYSTUruguay Summer TimeUTC−02
UYTUruguay Standard TimeUTC−03
UZTUzbekistan TimeUTC+05
VETVenezuelan Standard TimeUTC−04
VLATVladivostok TimeUTC+10
VOLTVolgograd TimeUTC+03
VOSTVostok Station TimeUTC+06
VUTVanuatu TimeUTC+11
WAKTWake Island TimeUTC+12
WASTWest Africa Summer TimeUTC+02
WATWest Africa TimeUTC+01
WESTWestern European Summer TimeUTC+01
WETWestern European TimeUTC±00
WIBWestern Indonesian TimeUTC+07
WITEastern Indonesian TimeUTC+09
WITACentral Indonesia TimeUTC+08
WGSTWest Greenland Summer TimeUTC−02
WGTWest Greenland TimeUTC−03
WSTWestern Standard TimeUTC+08
YAKTYakutsk TimeUTC+09
YEKTYekaterinburg TimeUTC+05
ZZulu Time (Coordinated Universal Time)UTC±00

How to Avoid Confusion with Time Zone Abbreviations

Time zones are commonly denoted by alphabetic abbreviations like "EST," "WST," and "CST." However, it's important to note that these abbreviations do not align with the international time and date standard ISO 8601, and their use as the sole identifier for a time zone is discouraged. These designations can lead to confusion as they have multiple meanings. For instance, "CST" can refer to China Standard Time (UTC+8), Cuba Standard Time (UTC−5), and North American Central Standard Time (UTC−6). Furthermore, "CST" is also a widely accepted variation for ACST (Australian Central Standard Time, UTC+9:30).

The Dangers of Using Time Zone Abbreviations in the Internet Age

These abbreviations originated prior to the existence of ISO 8601 and the internet age. In an earlier time, they were sufficiently clear for various practical applications within a national context, such as railway schedules and business correspondence. However, their ambiguity becomes apparent in the internet age, where communication often lacks implicit geographic context to provide part of the intended meaning. Consequently, the use of these abbreviations has been discouraged to prevent confusion.

What is Zulu Time, and what is its meaning?

Zulu Time, often referred to as "Zulu" or "Z time," is a term used in aviation and military contexts to denote Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). UTC is the primary time standard by which the world regulates clocks and time, and it is equivalent to Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) in practical terms.

The use of Zulu Time eliminates the confusion that can arise when dealing with time zones and daylight saving time changes. It ensures that everyone is referring to the same time standard, regardless of their location on the Earth. In aviation and military operations, precise timing and coordination across various time zones are crucial, so Zulu Time is commonly used to maintain consistency.

What is EMEA Time Zone?

The term "EMEA" stands for Europe, Middle East, and Africa. It is not a specific time zone but rather a designation used in business and corporate contexts to refer to a region that spans multiple time zones. This region covers a vast geographical area, and different countries within it have their own specific time zones. When scheduling international meetings or coordinating activities within the EMEA region, it's essential to consider the time differences across these various time zones.

References

  1. Abbreviations of Time Zones: Government of Canada's digital presence
  2. Time Zones and DST: Australian Government
  3. TIME ZONES (EAST TO WEST): Federal Aviation Administration