Coordinated Universal Time facts for kids
| blue | Western European Time (UTC+0) Western European Summer Time (UTC+1) |
| light blue | Western European Time (UTC+0) |
| red | Central European Time (UTC+1) Central European Summer Time (UTC+2) |
| yellow | Eastern European Time (UTC+2) Eastern European Summer Time (UTC+3) |
| orange | Kaliningrad Time (UTC+3) |
| green | Further-eastern European Time (UTC+3), a.k.a. Moscow Time |
Coordinated Universal Time (or UTC) is the main time system for the whole world. It helps everyone agree on what time it is. Think of it as the world's master clock. It's based on the time at 0° longitude, which runs through Greenwich, England.
Before UTC, people used Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). UTC and GMT are almost the same. For everyday use, you wouldn't notice any difference between them.
Many websites, like Wikipedia, use UTC. This is because it treats all countries equally. It provides one standard time for everyone using the Internet, no matter where they are. This makes it easy to coordinate events and information across the globe.
Understanding Time Zones with UTC
Time zones are often named by how many hours they are different from UTC. For example, if a time zone is UTC−5, it means it is 5 hours behind UTC. If it's 07:00 UTC, then in New York (UTC−5), it would be 02:00. In Moscow (UTC+3), it would be 10:00.
You might also see 07:00 UTC written as 0700Z or 07:00Z. The "Z" stands for "Zulu time," which is another name for UTC.
The 24-Hour Clock
UTC uses the 24-hour clock. This means there is no "AM" or "PM." For example, 4:00 PM would be written as 16:00 or 1600. This system avoids confusion between morning and afternoon times. It's often used in science, aviation, and military operations.
Images for kids
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World map of current time zones
See also
In Spanish: Tiempo universal coordinado para niños
