London Time
London Time
London operates on Greenwich Mean Time in winter and British Summer Time (UTC+1) in summer. It is one of the world's leading financial and cultural centres.
Why people check London time
Common reasons to track the current time in London.
London Stock Exchange
LSE trading runs 08:00–16:30 GMT/BST. Investors globally align their schedules to London market hours.
Media deadlines
BBC and major UK publications operate on GMT/BST. Knowing London time helps global media teams hit deadlines.
Government & diplomacy
Many international organisations measure time relative to London because of GMT's historical role as the global time standard.
West End shows
Theatre curtain times in London are fixed local time. Convert before buying tickets from overseas.
London Time — FAQ
Is London always on GMT?
No. London switches to BST (UTC+1) during summer (last Sunday in March to last Sunday in October). Only in winter is it on GMT (UTC+0).
How many hours ahead of New York is London?
London is typically 5 hours ahead of New York in winter and 4–6 hours depending on whether one or both have changed their clocks for daylight saving.
What is the difference between GMT and UTC?
GMT is a time zone (the mean solar time at the Greenwich meridian) while UTC is an atomic time standard. For practical purposes they are the same offset.
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