Time in Denmark

Denmark, including the dependencies Faroe Islands and Greenland, uses six different time zones.

AreaStandard TimeDaylight Timetz database
DenmarkUTC+1UTC+2EU transition datesEurope/Copenhagen
Faroe IslandsUTC±0UTC+1EU transition datesAtlantic/Faroe
DanmarkshavnUTC±0(no DST)America/Danmarkshavn
IttoqqortoormiitUTC-1UTC±0EU transition datesAmerica/Scoresbysund
Western GreenlandUTC-3UTC-2EU transition datesAmerica/Godthab
Thule Air BaseUTC-4UTC-3U.S. transition datesAmerica/Thule
The current time in Denmark is: 22:17, 23 October 2018 CEST [refresh]
The current time in Western Greenland is: 18:17, 23 October 2018 WGST [refresh]
These may be outdated if caching occurs

Time zones

Central European Time

UTC+1 as standard time, and UTC+2 as daylight saving time, with transition dates according to the European Union rules.

The UTC+1 centerline (15°E) goes through Bornholm, approximately 2 kilometers from Gudhjem, in the far eastern Denmark, while Copenhagen at 12°34′E corresponds to UTC+0:50, and the west coast at 8°6′E corresponds to UTC+0:32.

Western European Time

UTC±0 as standard time, and UTC+1 as daylight saving time.

The island of Mykines is actually located at 7°36′W longitude and thus at UTC-0:31 (closer to UTC-1 than UTC), however Mykines uses the same timezone as the rest of the Faroe Islands.

Greenwich Mean Time

UTC±0 year around, no daylight saving time

  • The northeast coast of Greenland. There are a few settlements, like the weather station Danmarkshavn, otherwise unpopulated.[1]
The area uses same time as Iceland, since it is generally supplied from Iceland. This is however unofficial. In the summer the time is the same as for East Greenland time.

East Greenland Time

UTC-1 as standard time, and UTC±0 as daylight saving time.

West Greenland Time

UTC-3 as standard time, and UTC-2 as daylight saving time.

Some places, such as Qaanaaq (69°13′W corresponding to UTC-4:37) and Kulusuk (37°11′W corresponding to UTC-2:28) are located outside the UTC-3 ± 0:30 zone, but still use the same time as the capital Nuuk (51°44′W corresponding to UTC-3:26)

Atlantic Time

UTC-4 as standard time, and UTC-3 as daylight saving time, with transition dates according to the United States rules.

Daylight saving time

All of Greenland uses daylight saving time, except for the northeast coast. The transition dates are according to the European Union rules, except for the Thule Air Base which uses United States transition dates and where the below description is not valid.

Daylight saving time starts at 01:00 UTC on the last Sunday in March and ends same time on the last Sunday in October each year, simultaneously in all affected areas.

This means that in Denmark proper, the transition is at 02:00 local standard time (03:00 daylight saving time), and in the Faroe Islands one hour earlier. In most of Greenland the transition takes place at 22:00 local standard time on the day before (23:00 daylight saving time), four hours before Copenhagen.

History

The first time a common time was used in Denmark, was in 1858, when Copenhagen local time was used as railway time. This was 0:50:20 from Greenwich. In 1880 this time was introduced as a standard time for Denmark. In 1894, Denmark connected to the international time zones, using Greenwich plus one hour.[1] This is the local time of eastern Bornholm, which has triggered some sarcastic comments.

Daylight saving time was used in the years 1916, 1940, 1945-1948 and is used from 1980.[1]

The Faroe Islands introduced Greenwich Mean Time in 1908, and Iceland (then a Danish area) introduced GMT-1 at the same time (changed to GMT, permanent daylight saving time, in 1968). West Greenland introduced GMT-3 in 1916. Daylight saving time was introduced in the Faroe Islands in 1981.[1]

IANA time zone database

Data for Denmark directly from zone.tab of the IANA time zone database. Columns marked with * are the columns from zone.tab itself.

c.c.* Coordinates* TZ* Comments* UTC offset UTC DST offset
DK+5540+01235Europe/Copenhagen +01:00 +02:00
FO+6201-00646Atlantic/Faroe +00:00 +01:00
GL+7646-01840America/Danmarkshavneast coast, north of Scoresbysund +00:00 +00:00
GL+7029-02158America/ScoresbysundScoresbysund / Ittoqqortoormiit −01:00 +00:00
GL+6411-05144America/Godthabmost locations −03:00 −02:00
GL+7634-06847America/ThuleThule / Pituffik −04:00 −03:00

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Time Zone Database
  2. On airgreenland.com search flights Kangerlussuaq – Neerlerit Inaat and Neerlerit Inaat – Ittoqqortoormiit
  3. On airgreenland.com search flights Upernavik – Qaanaaq and Ilulissat – Upernavik
  4. On airgreenland.com search flights Ilulissat – Kangerlussuaq
  5. On airgreenland.com search flights Nuuk – Kulusuk and Kulusuk – Tasiilaq
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