AST (SA) — Arabia Standard Time
Current time, offset and daylight saving status for Arabia Standard Time.
Current time in AST (SA)
17:12:26
Arabia Standard Time · UTC+03:00
About AST (SA)
Arabia Standard Time is used across the Arabian Peninsula all year.
Working with AST (SA)
UTC+03:00 applies here on every date of the year — there is no summer offset for Arabia Standard Time to switch to, so a time written against it means the same instant in January as in July.
When it is noon UTC, Arabia Standard Time reads 15:00; midnight UTC is 03:00 here. AST (SA) runs 3 h ahead of UTC, so its calendar day begins before the reference clock’s does.
The same standard offset, UTC+03:00, is kept by MSK, TRT and EAT, though each follows its own daylight saving rules — or none — so they do not stay aligned all year. One hour to the west of AST (SA) in this directory sits CEST (UTC+02:00); one hour to the east, GST (UTC+04:00).
The letters AST are also used for Atlantic Standard Time (UTC-04:00). Quote the IANA identifier, Asia/Riyadh, wherever the meaning has to be unambiguous.
Clock changes in AST (SA)
Arabia Standard Time has no clock change at any point in the year; UTC+03:00 applies on every date, in Riyadh as everywhere else on the zone.
Of the reference zones in the table below, New York, London, Berlin, Sydney and Los Angeles observe daylight saving, so their difference from AST (SA) shifts twice a year; UTC, Dubai, Kolkata, Singapore and Tokyo stay fixed.
Where AST (SA) is used
In this directory 2 cities keep AST (SA): Riyadh and Jeddah. Between them they cover Saudi Arabia.
Where AST (SA) stands today
Arabia Standard Time is UTC+03:00 today and will be UTC+03:00 on every other day. A recurring meeting anchored to AST (SA) never drifts against UTC, which makes it a dependable reference for logs kept in Riyadh and for schedules that run across a whole year.
A working day on AST (SA)
Taking Riyadh as the reference point for AST (SA), and a working day as 09:00 to 17:00:
- New York overlaps for only 1 hours, from 16:00 to 17:00 Riyadh time — late in the day at one end and early at the other.
- London’s working day overlaps with Riyadh’s for 6 hours, from 11:00 to 17:00 Riyadh time.
- Tokyo overlaps for only 2 hours, from 09:00 to 11:00 Riyadh time — late in the day at one end and early at the other.
On the June solstice the sun rises in Riyadh at about 05:04 and sets at about 18:45; on the December solstice it rises at about 06:33 and sets at about 17:09.
How AST (SA) compares with other zones
Right now AST (SA) runs ahead of UTC, New York, London, Berlin and Los Angeles and behind Dubai, Kolkata, Singapore, Tokyo and Sydney.
| Zone | UTC offset | Difference from AST (SA) |
|---|---|---|
| UTC | UTC+00:00 | 3h ahead |
| New York | UTC-04:00 | 7h ahead |
| London | UTC+01:00 | 2h ahead |
| Berlin | UTC+02:00 | 1h ahead |
| Dubai | UTC+04:00 | 1h behind |
| Kolkata | UTC+05:30 | 2h 30m behind |
| Singapore | UTC+08:00 | 5h behind |
| Tokyo | UTC+09:00 | 6h behind |
| Sydney | UTC+11:00 | 8h behind |
| Los Angeles | UTC-07:00 | 10h ahead |
Larger places currently keeping AST (SA): Saudi Arabia.
Cities using AST (SA)
- Riyadh
- Kuwait City
- Doha
- Baghdad
Convert AST (SA) to another zone
Related time zones
Time zone rules: IANA tz database release 2026c, applied when this page was generated on 2026-10-09.
Frequently asked questions
What is AST (SA)?
Arabia Standard Time, AST (SA), is UTC+03:00. Arabia Standard Time is used across the Arabian Peninsula all year.
What is the IANA identifier for AST (SA)?
Asia/Riyadh — the entry that covers Riyadh in the tz database. Use it rather than AST (SA) in software: AST (SA) names one season, Asia/Riyadh names the rules for every date.
Does AST (SA) change for daylight saving?
No. Arabia Standard Time keeps UTC+03:00 on every date; so does MSK, TRT and EAT.
How do I convert AST (SA) to my local time?
One hour to the west of AST (SA) in this directory sits CEST (UTC+02:00); one hour to the east, GST (UTC+04:00). For anything beyond that, the converter applies the rules of Asia/Riyadh for the date you give it rather than a remembered figure.
Which cities use AST (SA)?
In this directory 2 cities keep AST (SA): Riyadh and Jeddah. Between them they cover Saudi Arabia. The boundary is legal rather than geographic: it follows the borders of Saudi Arabia, not a line of longitude.
What should I put in a configuration file for AST (SA)?
Asia/Riyadh, never AST (SA). That entry carries the rules Riyadh actually follows, including when daylight saving starts and ends, so software using it stays correct through a change that a stored offset would miss.