A live map of the world's time zones
The map divides the globe into its time-zone bands and shades the half of the planet where it is currently night. Move the time control or type a UTC time and the day-and-night line sweeps across the map, so you can see at a glance who is awake and who is asleep right now.
Day, night and the terminator
At any moment the sun lights half the Earth. The boundary between day and night is called the terminator; it moves west as the planet turns, about 15° of longitude every hour. The shaded band is an approximation of that line — enough to see the pattern, not an exact sunrise and sunset table.
To convert a specific time between two cities instead, use the Time Zone Converter.
Frequently asked questions
Why is half the map dark?
Because the sun only lights half of the Earth at once. The shaded side is where it is night at the UTC time you pick.
How do time zones work?
Each zone is an offset from UTC, the world's reference clock. There are 24 main one-hour bands, plus a few with 30- or 45-minute offsets.
What is the terminator line?
The moving boundary between the day and night sides of Earth. It circles the planet once a day as the Earth rotates.
Does the map show daylight saving time?
It shows the standard zone bands. Daylight saving shifts local clocks by an hour where it applies, which the toggle approximates.