Z-time (Coordinated Universal Time) (2024)

FAQs

Z-time (Coordinated Universal Time)? ›

All aspects of meteorology are based upon a world-wide 24-hour clock called Zulu time (Z), more commonly called Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). You will notice all weather maps, radar, and satellite images all have their time expressed in "Z".

The UTC time zone is sometimes denoted by the letter Z—a reference to the equivalent nautical time zone (GMT), which has been denoted by a Z since about 1950. The letter also refers to the "zone description" of zero hours, which has been used since 1920 (see time zone history).

Zulu Time Zone – ZTime Zone (Military Time)

Currently has same time zone offset as Z (UTC +0) but different time zone name. Zulu Time Zone (Z) has no offset from Coordinated Universal Time (UTC).

Prior to 1972, this time was called Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) but is now referred to as Coordinated Universal Time or Universal Time Coordinated (UTC). It is a coordinated time scale, maintained by the Bureau International des Poids et Mesures (BIPM). It is also known as "Z time" or "Zulu Time".

The timezone Z is the code for Zulu Time or Zebra Time and is the military code name for UTC.

UTC stands for Coordinated Universal Time, a standard used to set all time zones around the world. So, for instance, New York City is in the time zone UTC minus five, meaning that it is 5 hours earlier in NYC than the reading on a UTC clock (except during U.S. daylight savings, when it is 4 hours earlier).

How is Zulu time measured? In military shorthand, the letter Z follows a time expressed in UTC, or the time at longitude 0 degrees 0 minutes -- the prime meridian or longitudinal line that separates east from west in the world geographical coordinate system.

Add the local time offset to the UTC time. For example, if your local time offset is -5:00, and if the UTC time is shown as 11:00, add -5 to 11. The time setting when adjusted for offset is 06:00 (6:00 A.M.).

A UTC offset is the difference in hours and minutes between a particular time zone and UTC, the time at zero degrees longitude. For example, New York is UTC-05:00, which means it is five hours behind London, which is UTC±00:00.

Since Greenwich is the site of the “zero meridian,” they called GMT “Zero Time” or simply “Z- Time.” In the phonetic alphabet that the flyers of the time used to make themselves understood on their radios, “Z” became “Zebra.” When the alphabet was changed, the call sign became “Zulu.”

Is UTC in English time? ›

The United Kingdom uses Greenwich Mean Time (also known as Western European Time or UTC) and British Summer Time (UTC+01:00) (also known as Western European Summer Time).

All aspects of meteorology are based upon a world-wide 24-hour clock called Zulu time (Z), more commonly called Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). You will notice all weather maps, radar, and satellite images all have their time expressed in "Z".

The T is just a literal to separate the date from the time, and the Z means “zero hour offset” also known as “Zulu time” (UTC). If your strings always have a “Z” you can use: SimpleDateFormat format = new SimpleDateFormat( “yyyy-MM-dd'T'HH:mm:ss).

Coordinated Universal Time (UTC)

If the time is in UTC, add a Z directly after the time without a space. Z is the zone designator for the zero UTC offset. "09:30 UTC" is therefore represented as "09:30Z" or "T0930Z". "14:45:15 UTC" would be "14:45:15Z" or "T144515Z".

The Zulu time zone (Z) is equivalent to Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) and is often referred to as the military time zone. The military time zone system ensures clear communication in a concise manner, and avoids confusion when coordinating across time zones.

When you see 12 UTC or 1200 UTC or 12Z (all are the same and depend on forecaster preference), it refers to noon at Greenwich. 00 UTC or 00Z is midnight Greenwich time.

Z stands for Zulu, zero hours timezone offset. T stands for time (just to separate the date and time). See ISO8601 standard date and time format).