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How to Convert From UTC to Local Time

Blame sea commerce for the location of UTC -- delegates from 25 nations selected the meridian running through the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, England, as 0 degrees latitude in part because naval navigation depended on the location. This decision made in 1884 cemented UTC, Universal Coordinated Time, as the worldwide time standard. Meteorologists collect and report data according to UTC to ensure international consistency. As long as you know your local time zone, converting to UTC is straightforward.

Instructions

- 1
  Pinpoint your local time zone on a UTC time conversion table.
- 2
  Add or subtract the number of hours indicated on the chart from UTC time.
- 3
  Add 2400 to the result if it is negative. Note that this means the local time is a day earlier than UTC.
- 4
  Subtract 2400 if the result is greater than 2400. This means local time is a day later than UTC.
- 5
  Convert to an a.m. or p.m. time by inserting a colon and adding "a.m." after times between 0100 and 1159; for example, 0100 is 1 a.m. Subtract 1200 from times between 1259 and 2359, insert a colon and add "p.m." For example, subtract 1200 from 1300 to get 1 p.m. 0000 UTC is midnight, and 1200 UTC is noon.

Astronomy