Current time in London
- Time zone
- Europe/London
- UTC offset
- UTC+01:00
- Abbreviation
- BST
- Daylight saving time
- Observed
- Next clock change
- October 25, 2026
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Population
- 8,961,989
London time difference
How far London is ahead of or behind the world's main business hubs right now. Daylight saving time is already applied where it is in effect.
| Compared with | Time difference | UTC offset |
|---|---|---|
| New York City | 5h behindChanges with DST | UTC-04:00 |
| Los Angeles | 8h behindChanges with DST | UTC-07:00 |
| Chicago | 6h behindChanges with DST | UTC-05:00 |
| Tokyo | 8h aheadChanges with DST | UTC+09:00 |
| Dubai | 3h aheadChanges with DST | UTC+04:00 |
| Shanghai | 7h aheadChanges with DST | UTC+08:00 |
Clock changes in London
| Date | Local time | UTC offset |
|---|---|---|
| October 25, 2026 | 2:00 AM → 1:00 AM | UTC+01:00 → UTC+00:00 |
| March 28, 2027 | 1:00 AM → 2:00 AM | UTC+00:00 → UTC+01:00 |
Sunrise, sunset and solar time in London
- Sunrise today
- 7:03 AM
- Sunset today
- 6:36 PM
- Day length today
- 11 hours 34 minutes
- Solar noon today
- 12:49 PM
- Longest day
- 16 hours 38 minutes (June 21)
- Shortest day
- 7 hours 49 minutes (December 21)
Standard time in London closely follows the sun: solar noon comes at about 12:01 PM. Daylight saving time moves solar noon one more hour later on the clock.
Time zone history since 1970
Clocks change twice a year, as they have every year since 1972.
Changes outside the seasonal pattern:
- October 31, 1971: UTC+01:00 → UTC+00:00
Source: IANA time zone database, version 2025b.
Worth knowing
London is on Greenwich Mean Time (UTC+0) only in winter. From the last Sunday in March to the last Sunday in October it uses British Summer Time, UTC+1 — so for most of the year GMT and London time are not the same thing.
Britain also tried year-round UTC+1 from 1968 to 1971; the end of that experiment is the first change in the history above.
Sources: IANA tz database: europe
Frequently asked questions
- What time zone is London in?
- London uses the Europe/London (BST) time zone and is currently on UTC+01:00.
- Does London observe daylight saving time?
- Yes. The next clock change is on October 25, 2026; after it, UTC+00:00 applies.