Time Zone Map

Contents

If you’re someone who works or communicates with people in different continents or countries – and let’s face it, in the day and age of Zoom calls and remote work, who doesn’t? – being able to calculate differences between time zones is essential. A quick way to figure out what time it is in another location is using a a time zone converter: simply input your local time and select a country you want to know the time of, and you‘ll get an instant result. But what if you need to know the time in several different locations across the globe at the same time? 

This is where a time zone map comes in: if you want to know what the time will be in several different places in the world at any given moment, this is the perfect tool for it. You might need to do this if you have an important conference call to make, or schedule a video meeting involving people from different locations. Using the time zone map, you can easily figure out what time is where and what would be the best time to schedule your call for everyone involved. Balancing multiple time zones and making sure the selected time works for everyone is no easy task, and this time zone map can help you get your bearings faster.

The borders on a world clock map which represents the time zones around the world are drawn to match up with the local and international time zone borders. As a result of the different time zones which are shown in this time zone map, there are 39 different local times that are currently being used worldwide which you can view on our time zone map. Time zones are named taking various factors into consideration, the most common one being location. Thankfully, time zones help to prevent the chaos that would reign if we were unable to readily determine the time in another locality.

The time zone map is a helpful tool to quickly calculate the time zone differences around the world, but there are several key factors you should bear in mind before planning your international calls, travels, or meetings:

Time Zone Map Guidelines

To accurately calculate time zone differences, you first need to know exactly how time zones work. Essentially, the time zone system was adapted to ensure countries and people around the world can communicate, use transport systems, and work using the same time standard. The way time zones work is this: the Earth is constantly rotating around its own axis, which is why noon – the time of day when the sun is in its zenith – hits different places around the world at a different time. Noon in Paris is nighttime in Tokyo; to account for these differences, the scientists have discovered that the Earth rotates about 15 degrees an hour. This means that each time zone is exactly fifteen degrees of latitude, and there are a total of 24 of these fifteen-degree slices around the world.

The zero hour is set in Greenwich, England, because Greenwich sits on longitude zero (also known as the Greenwich meridian). Everything West of Greenwich will have a negative offset, or “hours behind”, whereas everything east of it will have a positive time offset, or “hours ahead”. This is why, in reference to, say, London, New York time is “behind” and Sydney time is “ahead”.

The time zone map illustrates this very clearly: if you locate the Greenwich meridian and look at the regions and countries located West of it, you’ll see UTC- time offsets. Equally, looking East, you’ll notice the countries are in UTC+ offset.

Knowing this and using the time zone map, it’s much easier to figure out the exact time around the world and understand how it all works.

Track Time Zones From Across The Globe

In addition to different hours, different time zones utilize daylight saving time at different times. In the United States, daylight saving time begins at 2:00 a.m. on the second Sunday in March and ends on the first Sunday in November. Each time zone in the U.S. switches at a different time. In the European Union, on the other hand, daylight saving time starts and ends at 1:00 a.m. Universal Time (Greenwich Mean Time). All EU time zones change at the same moment starting the last Sunday in March and ending the last Sunday in October. In the Southern Hemisphere, participating countries usually start the DST-period in September to November and end it in March to April.  Using our time zone map, you can locate the exact time zone anywhere across the globe.

How to Use the Time Zone Map

To use the time zone map, you can apply some of the simple strategies that we are laying out for you:

Firstly, you’re looking at a map of the world. The indications on the top and bottom tell you how many hours difference there are from the Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) and all of the other sections of the time zone map. The numbers represent how far ahead or behind each place is from the places with UTC, such as Greenwich.

Secondly, locate a place on the map where you know the time. That could be the place that you are right now for example.

Now it’s time to locate the places where you want to know the time. There may be several of them. Count the number of time zones between them. If you have to move left, you will subtract these hours from the time of your starting place. If you have to move right, you will add these hours to the time of your starting place.

For example, if you know that the time is 7am on the east coast of the USA and you want to know the time on the west coast of Africa, simply count the time zones between them. You must move five time zones to the right to reach the west coast of Africa, therefore it must be noon there.

To make the time zone map even more effective, you can draw up a simple chart: write out your own location and note the countries you want to know the time of on the top. Then, divide the countries into sections and, using the time zone map, write out the exact time for each country. This way, you can have your own time zone chart to help you decide on the best time to schedule and international call, video meeting, or an online webinar.

As an example, if you are based in Los Angeles and you need to invite people from Madrid, Moscow, and Sydney to a conference call, look at the time zone map and see what time is it in those different locations at 9 am your time. You’ll see that 9AM in Los Angeles is 6 PM in Madrid, 7PM in Moscow, and 2AM in Sydney – a little too late for your Spanish and Russian colleagues and way too early for your Australian contact. Either you’ll have to sacrifice your own time and get up early, or schedule the meeting around the Australian time to make sure it works for everyone.

Juggling different time zones is no easy task, and that’s why using tools like the time zone converter and the time zone map can be helpful when scheduling your work or communications around the world.

A time zone map can also be helpful when you’re planning your work around different time schedules. For example, if you are based in Europe but your work with a Japanese company, keep in mind you’ll need to turn your projects in earlier: Japan is several hours ahead, so to make sure you meet the deadlines, use the time zone map to account for the time zone differences. Telling your boss or co-worker you’ve mixed up the time zones is not an excuse to deliver work late – after all, tools like the online time zone converter and map is just one click away.

Equally, knowing exactly what time it is in a different country can help you stay in touch with friends and family. If your loved ones are away on a holiday, or if you’re traveling yourself, don’t forget that they are in a different time zone now and don’t wake them up by phoning them at midnight or 2AM!

Finally, a time zone map can be helpful when you’re planning a trip. If you’re taking an international flight to another continent, be aware of jetlag: time zone differences mess with our circadian rhythms, so if you know you’re flying from Europe to North America in the morning and the flight takes ten hours, you know you’ll arrive at midday and it’s best not to sleep on a plane but power through instead to make sure you catch up with North American time faster. At the same time, if you’re flying East, adapting to time zone differences will be easier, but it’s handy to know exactly how many hours you’re losing or gaining to make sure you get rid of jetlag as quickly as possible.

Now you know how to use the time zone map and to know what the time will be in several different locations in the world at any given moment. It is also important to look at the International Date Line which is represented on the map. It runs through the Pacific Ocean. If it is Monday to the East of the International Date Line, then it is Tuesday to the West of the International Date line.

You can use the time zone map to organize international communication, travel or deadlines. It gives you a visual representation of the time zones across the world in a single depiction.