Standard Time, Winter Time, Normal Time

Standard time is also known as winter time or normal time in some countries.

The standard time of a region is the local time used outside of the Daylight Saving Time (DST) period.

More than 60% of the countries in the world use standard time all year.

The remaining countries use DST during the summer months, generally setting clocks forward one hour from standard time.

DST Changes – Dates and Local Times

Winter Time and Normal Time

Standard time is sometimes referred to as winter time or normal time, while DST may also be called summer time, especially in the UK.

DST Period Longest

The periods of standard time and DST are not equally long. The standard time period is often shorter than the DST period. In the US and Canada, for instance, the standard time period is only around four and a half months. European countries are on standard time five months of the year and spend seven months on DST.

What is a Time Zone?

Time Zone Name Changes

During DST, the local time zone name and abbreviation changes, usually to include either "daylight" or "summer" in the time zone name.

For example, New York's standard time is Eastern Standard Time (EST), which is five hours behind UTC (UTC–5). However, during DST, the city is on Eastern Daylight Time (EDT), which is four hours behind UTC (UTC–4).

In day-to-day speak, however, the time zone is often referred to as just Eastern Time, regardless of whether it's standard or Daylight Saving Time.

Time Difference From UTC

The local time within a time zone is defined by its offset (difference) from Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), the world's time standard.

This offset is expressed as either UTC– or UTC+ and the number of hours and/or minutes.

A few countries' and territories' standard time have UTC offsets of 30 or 45 minutes instead of the usual hour.

Interactive Time Zone Map

Countries Switch Time Zones

From time to time, countries decide to change their standard time. Some changes are for political reasons, like in Russia and North Korea.

More common reasons are practical, like facilitating trade with neighboring areas, or to boost tourism.

Two-Hour Change Every Year

Instead of DST, some locations change their standard time back and forth every year. For example: the Antarctic research station Troll switches from Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) to Central European Time (CET), and then later, it goes on to Central European Summer Time (CEST) in order to adjust to the local time in its mother country, Norway. Troll time then changes back again to CET and finally to GMT in the fall.

Topics: Time Zone, Timekeeping, Daylight Saving Time