World Time Zones
Definition of Time Zones
A time zone item specifies an international time zone, indicated by a small set of letters.
Military time zone designations use a single letter (except j). Zulu Time (z) is Greenwich Mean Time (GMT).
Here are the most common standard-time time zones, indexed by the zone hour value.
| GMT offset | Time Zone Abbreviation Examples | Military |
|---|---|---|
| -0:00 | GMT = Greenwich Mean Time UT or UTC for Universal (Coordinated) Time WET for Western European Time | z |
Time Zones East of Greenwich
| GMT offset | Time Zone Abbreviation Examples | Military |
|---|---|---|
| GMT+1 | CET = Central European Time WAT = West Africa Time (e.g Algeria) |
AWST = Australian Western Standard Time
WST = Western Standard Time (Australia)
EST = Eastern Standard Time (Australia)
VLAT = Vladivostok Time
NZST = New Zealand Standard Time
NZT = New Zealand Time MAGT = Magadan Time
Time Zones West of Greenwich
| GMT offset | Time Zone Abbreviations | Military |
|---|---|---|
| GMT-1 | WAT = West Africa Time | N |
| GMT-2 | AT = Azores Time | O |
| GMT-3 | ART = Argentina Time | P |
| GMT-4 | AST = Atlantic Standard Time (Canada) | Q |
| GMT-5 | EST = Eastern Standard Time (USA & Canada) | R |
| GMT-6 | CST = Central Standard Time (USA & Canada) | S |
| GMT-7 | MST = Mountain Standard Time (USA & Canada) | T |
| GMT-8 | PST = Pacific Standard Time (USA & Canada) | U |
| GMT-9 | AKST Alaska Standard Time (USA) YST = Yukon Standard Time (Canada) | V |
| GMT-10 | HST = Hawaii Standard Time HAST Hawaii-Aleutian Standard Time (USA) AHST = Alaska-Hawaii Standard Time (obs) CAT = Central Alaska Time | W |
| GMT-11 | NT = Nome Time | X |
| GMT-12 | IDLW = International Date Line West | Y |
Here are many Daylight Saving Time (DST) time zones, indexed by the zone hour value.
| GMT offset | Time Zone Abbreviations | Military |
|---|---|---|
| GMT-3 | ADT = Atlantic Daylight Time (Canada) | P |
| GMT-4 | EDT = Eastern Daylight Time (USA & Canada) | Q |
| GMT-5 | CDT = Central Daylight Time (USA & Canada) | R |
| GMT-6 | MDT = Mountain Daylight Time (USA & Canada) | S |
| GMT-7 | PDT = Pacific Daylight Time (USA & Canada) | T |
| GMT-8 | AKDT = Alaska Daylight Time (USA) YDT = Yukon Daylight Time (Canada) HADT = HawaiiGMT-Aleutian Daylight Time (USA) | U |
| GMT-9 | HDT = Hawaii Daylight Time (USA) | V |
| GMT offset | Time Zone Abbreviations | Military |
|---|---|---|
| GMT+1 | BST = British Summer Time (UK) IST = Irish Summer Time (Ireland) WEDT = Western European Daylight Time WEST Western European Summer Time | A |
| GMT+2 | CEDT = Central European Daylight Time CEST = Central European Summer Time MEST = Middle European Summer Time MESZ = Middle European Summer Time | B |
| GMT+3 | EEDT = Eastern European Daylight Time EEST Eastern European Summer Time | C |
| GMT+8 | WADT = West Australian Daylight Time | H |
| GMT+11 | EADT = Eastern Australian Daylight Time EST = Eastern Summer (Daylight) Time (Australia) | L |
| GMT+13 | NZDT = New Zealand Daylight Time | M* |
French Time Zone Abbreviations
HAA = Heure Avancée de l'Atlantique GMT-3
HAC = Heure Avancée du Centre GMT-5
HAE = Heure Avancée de l'Est GMT-4
HAP = Heure Avancée du Pacifique GMT-7
HAR = Heure Avancée des Rocheuses GMT-6
HAT = Heure Avancée de Terre-Neuve GMT-2:30
HAY = Heure Avancée du Yukon GMT-8
HNA = Heure Normale de l'Atlantique GMT-4
HNC = Heure Normale du Centre GMT-6
HNE = Heure Normale de l'Est GMT-5
HNP = Heure Normale du Pacifique GMT-8
HNR = Heure Normale des Rocheuses GMT-7
HNT = Heure Normale de Terre-Neuve GMT-3:30
HNY = Heure Normale du Yukon GMT-9
German Time Zone Abbreviations
MESZ = Mitteleuropäische Sommerzeit GMT+2
MEZ = Mitteleuropäische Zeit GMT+1
Non-standard Time Zones
ACDT Australian Central Daylight Time Australia GMT+10:30
ACST Australian Central Standard Time Australia GMT+9:30
CST Central Summer (Daylight) Time Australia GMT+10:30
CST Central Standard Time Australia GMT+9:30
IST = India Standard Time GMT+5:30
NDT Newfoundland Daylight Time (Canada) GMT-2:30
NFT Norfolk (Island) Time (Australia) GMT+11:30
NST Newfoundland Standard Time (Canada) GMT-3:30
Military Time Zones
The hourly zones are used by the military are referred to by a letter of the alphabet (or their phonetic equivalent).
The letter J is not used.
The other 25 letters cover the 12 time zones to the east of Greenwich and the 12 time zones to the west of Greenwich. The 25th zone is Z (Zulu) for GMT / UTC.
A - M are for time zones to the East of Greenwich
N - Y are for time zones to the West of Greenwich.
