GST — Gulf Standard Time
Current time, offset and daylight saving status for Gulf Standard Time.
Current time in GST
18:12:26
Gulf Standard Time · UTC+04:00
About GST
The Gulf states do not observe daylight saving time.
Working with GST
UTC+04:00 applies here on every date of the year — there is no summer offset for Gulf 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, Gulf Standard Time reads 16:00; midnight UTC is 04:00 here. GST runs 4 h ahead of UTC, so its calendar day begins before the reference clock’s does.
No other zone in this directory keeps UTC+04:00 as its standard offset. One hour to the west of GST in this directory sits AST (SA) (UTC+03:00); one hour to the east, PKT (UTC+05:00).
The letters GST are also used for South Georgia Time (UTC-02:00). Quote the IANA identifier, Asia/Dubai, wherever the meaning has to be unambiguous.
Clock changes in GST
Gulf Standard Time has no clock change at any point in the year; UTC+04:00 applies on every date, in Dubai 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 GST shifts twice a year; UTC, Kolkata, Singapore and Tokyo stay fixed.
Where GST is used
In this directory 2 cities keep GST: Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Between them they cover United Arab Emirates.
Where GST stands today
Gulf Standard Time is UTC+04:00 today and will be UTC+04:00 on every other day. A recurring meeting anchored to GST never drifts against UTC, which makes it a dependable reference for logs kept in Dubai and for schedules that run across a whole year.
A working day on GST
Taking Dubai as the reference point for GST, and a working day as 09:00 to 17:00:
- New York has no overlap at all: when it is 09:00 there, it is already 17:00 in Dubai, so a call means an early start or a late finish for someone.
- London’s working day overlaps with Dubai’s for 5 hours, from 12:00 to 17:00 Dubai time.
- Tokyo overlaps for only 3 hours, from 09:00 to 12:00 Dubai time — late in the day at one end and early at the other.
On the June solstice the sun rises in Dubai at about 05:29 and sets at about 19:11; on the December solstice it rises at about 06:59 and sets at about 17:33.
How GST compares with other zones
Right now GST runs ahead of UTC, New York, London, Berlin and Los Angeles and behind Kolkata, Singapore, Tokyo and Sydney.
| Zone | UTC offset | Difference from GST |
|---|---|---|
| UTC | UTC+00:00 | 4h ahead |
| New York | UTC-04:00 | 8h ahead |
| London | UTC+01:00 | 3h ahead |
| Berlin | UTC+02:00 | 2h ahead |
| Kolkata | UTC+05:30 | 1h 30m behind |
| Singapore | UTC+08:00 | 4h behind |
| Tokyo | UTC+09:00 | 5h behind |
| Sydney | UTC+11:00 | 7h behind |
| Los Angeles | UTC-07:00 | 11h ahead |
Larger places currently keeping GST: United Arab Emirates.
Cities using GST
Convert GST 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 GST?
Gulf Standard Time, GST, is UTC+04:00. The Gulf states do not observe daylight saving time.
What is the IANA identifier for GST?
Asia/Dubai — the entry that covers Dubai in the tz database. Use it rather than GST in software: GST names one season, Asia/Dubai names the rules for every date.
Does GST change for daylight saving?
No. Gulf Standard Time keeps UTC+04:00 on every date; no other listed zone keeps that offset.
How do I convert GST to my local time?
One hour to the west of GST in this directory sits AST (SA) (UTC+03:00); one hour to the east, PKT (UTC+05:00). For anything beyond that, the converter applies the rules of Asia/Dubai for the date you give it rather than a remembered figure.
Which cities use GST?
In this directory 2 cities keep GST: Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Between them they cover United Arab Emirates. The boundary is legal rather than geographic: it follows the borders of United Arab Emirates, not a line of longitude.
What should I put in a configuration file for GST?
Asia/Dubai, never GST. That entry carries the rules Dubai actually follows, including when daylight saving starts and ends, so software using it stays correct through a change that a stored offset would miss.