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Time Zone in London, England, United Kingdom

4:02:35 am BST

Saturday, April 20, 2024

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Current: BST — British Summer Time
Next Change: GMT — Greenwich Mean Time
Current Offset: UTC/GMT +1 hour
Difference: 5 hours ahead of Columbus
Location of LondonLocation

2024 Time Zones - London

Jan
Feb
Mar
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May
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Oct
Nov
Dec

The graph above illustrates clock changes in London during 2024.

London in GMT Time Zone

London uses Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) during standard time and British Summer Time (BST) during Daylight Saving Time (DST), or summer time.

The Difference between GMT and UTC

In practice, GMT and UTC share the same time on a clock, which can cause them to be interchanged or confused. However, there is an essential difference between the two:

  • UTC is a time standard that forms the base of time zones worldwide and is not used as a time zone in any country. Time zones are defined by their offsets from UTC. Since GMT has a UTC offset of zero, there is no time difference between the two.
  • GMT is a time zone used in the UK and other European and African countries.

A source of confusion is that GMT used to be the world's time standard before UTC was introduced. Until 1972, time zones were defined by their offset from GMT based on mean solar time at the prime meridian in Greenwich near London.

What About BST?

During Daylight Saving Time, clocks in the United Kingdom are set forward one hour to British Summer Time (BST). The UK is the only country that observes BST in the summer. Some other countries, such as Ireland, observe the same local time, but under a different name.

Time Changes in London Over the Years

Daylight Saving Time (DST) changes do not necessarily occur on the same date every year.

YearDate & TimeAbbreviationTime ChangeOffset After
1925Sun, Apr 19 at 2:00 amGMTBST+1 hour (DST start)UTC+1h
 Sun, Oct 4 at 3:00 amBSTGMT-1 hour (DST end)UTC
1926Sun, Apr 18 at 2:00 amGMTBST+1 hour (DST start)UTC+1h
 Sun, Oct 3 at 3:00 amBSTGMT-1 hour (DST end)UTC
1927Sun, Apr 10 at 2:00 amGMTBST+1 hour (DST start)UTC+1h
 Sun, Oct 2 at 3:00 amBSTGMT-1 hour (DST end)UTC
1928Sun, Apr 22 at 2:00 amGMTBST+1 hour (DST start)UTC+1h
 Sun, Oct 7 at 3:00 amBSTGMT-1 hour (DST end)UTC
1929Sun, Apr 21 at 2:00 amGMTBST+1 hour (DST start)UTC+1h
 Sun, Oct 6 at 3:00 amBSTGMT-1 hour (DST end)UTC
1930Sun, Apr 13 at 2:00 amGMTBST+1 hour (DST start)UTC+1h
 Sun, Oct 5 at 3:00 amBSTGMT-1 hour (DST end)UTC
1931Sun, Apr 19 at 2:00 amGMTBST+1 hour (DST start)UTC+1h
 Sun, Oct 4 at 3:00 amBSTGMT-1 hour (DST end)UTC
1932Sun, Apr 17 at 2:00 amGMTBST+1 hour (DST start)UTC+1h
 Sun, Oct 2 at 3:00 amBSTGMT-1 hour (DST end)UTC
1933Sun, Apr 9 at 2:00 amGMTBST+1 hour (DST start)UTC+1h
 Sun, Oct 8 at 3:00 amBSTGMT-1 hour (DST end)UTC
1934Sun, Apr 22 at 2:00 amGMTBST+1 hour (DST start)UTC+1h
 Sun, Oct 7 at 3:00 amBSTGMT-1 hour (DST end)UTC
1935Sun, Apr 14 at 2:00 amGMTBST+1 hour (DST start)UTC+1h
 Sun, Oct 6 at 3:00 amBSTGMT-1 hour (DST end)UTC
1936Sun, Apr 19 at 2:00 amGMTBST+1 hour (DST start)UTC+1h
 Sun, Oct 4 at 3:00 amBSTGMT-1 hour (DST end)UTC
1937Sun, Apr 18 at 2:00 amGMTBST+1 hour (DST start)UTC+1h
 Sun, Oct 3 at 3:00 amBSTGMT-1 hour (DST end)UTC
1938Sun, Apr 10 at 2:00 amGMTBST+1 hour (DST start)UTC+1h
 Sun, Oct 2 at 3:00 amBSTGMT-1 hour (DST end)UTC
1939Sun, Apr 16 at 2:00 amGMTBST+1 hour (DST start)UTC+1h
 Sun, Nov 19 at 3:00 amBSTGMT-1 hour (DST end)UTC
1940Sun, Feb 25 at 2:00 amGMTBST+1 hour (DST start)UTC+1h
1941Sun, May 4 at 2:00 amBSTBDST+1 hour (DST increasing)UTC+2h
 Sun, Aug 10 at 3:00 amBDSTBST-1 hour (DST decreasing)UTC+1h
1942Sun, Apr 5 at 2:00 amBSTBDST+1 hour (DST increasing)UTC+2h
 Sun, Aug 9 at 3:00 amBDSTBST-1 hour (DST decreasing)UTC+1h
1943Sun, Apr 4 at 2:00 amBSTBDST+1 hour (DST increasing)UTC+2h
 Sun, Aug 15 at 3:00 amBDSTBST-1 hour (DST decreasing)UTC+1h
1944Sun, Apr 2 at 2:00 amBSTBDST+1 hour (DST increasing)UTC+2h
 Sun, Sep 17 at 3:00 amBDSTBST-1 hour (DST decreasing)UTC+1h
1945Mon, Apr 2 at 2:00 amBSTBDST+1 hour (DST increasing)UTC+2h
 Sun, Jul 15 at 3:00 amBDSTBST-1 hour (DST decreasing)UTC+1h
 Sun, Oct 7 at 3:00 amBSTGMT-1 hour (DST end)UTC
1946Sun, Apr 14 at 2:00 amGMTBST+1 hour (DST start)UTC+1h
 Sun, Oct 6 at 3:00 amBSTGMT-1 hour (DST end)UTC
1947Sun, Mar 16 at 2:00 amGMTBST+1 hour (DST start)UTC+1h
 Sun, Apr 13 at 2:00 amBSTBDST+1 hour (DST increasing)UTC+2h
 Sun, Aug 10 at 3:00 amBDSTBST-1 hour (DST decreasing)UTC+1h
 Sun, Nov 2 at 3:00 amBSTGMT-1 hour (DST end)UTC
1948Sun, Mar 14 at 2:00 amGMTBST+1 hour (DST start)UTC+1h
 Sun, Oct 31 at 3:00 amBSTGMT-1 hour (DST end)UTC
1949Sun, Apr 3 at 2:00 amGMTBST+1 hour (DST start)UTC+1h
 Sun, Oct 30 at 3:00 amBSTGMT-1 hour (DST end)UTC
* All times are local London time.

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London
United Kingdom
4:0235am
Saturday, April 20, 2024