Current time in Chennai
Live local time, date and time zone information for Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India.
Current time in Chennai
19:42:22
Asia/Kolkata · UTC+05:30
Time zone in Chennai
Chennai is in Tamil Nadu, India and uses the Asia/Kolkata time zone. Chennai does not observe daylight saving time, so it stays on India Standard Time (UTC+05:30) all year.
Sunrise and sunset in Chennai
Sun and clock in Chennai
Chennai sits almost exactly on the meridian its time zone is built around, so the clock and the sun agree here about as closely as they do anywhere: averaged over the year, solar noon falls at 12:09 by the standard clock, within 9 minutes of twelve.
Daylight through the year in Chennai
At 13.1°N latitude, Chennai sees its longest day around the June solstice, when the sun is above the horizon for about 12 h 54 m. The shortest day comes six months later at roughly 11 h 21 m, a swing of about 1 h 33 m between midsummer and midwinter.
Within the tropics the sun passes directly overhead twice a year, and the seasonal change in day length stays under 1 h 33 m.
On the June solstice the sun rises in Chennai at about 05:43 and sets at about 18:37; on the December solstice it rises at about 06:26 and sets at about 17:47.
When the clocks change in Chennai
Chennai does not change its clocks. The offset stays at UTC+05:30 every day of the year, so a time arranged here means the same thing in January as it does in July. That makes Chennai a straightforward place to schedule against — there is no window in the calendar where a recurring meeting quietly shifts by an hour.
Of the cities compared further down this page, New York, London and Sydney do change their clocks, so their difference from Chennai moves by an hour twice a year; Dubai, New Delhi, Singapore and Tokyo do not, so those differences never change.
Calling Chennai from another time zone
A working day of roughly 09:00 to 17:00 in Chennai corresponds to 03:30–11:30 UTC. To find the equivalent window where you are, add your own offset to those hours: somewhere on UTC+00:00 would be looking at 03:30–11:30.
Taking a working day as 09:00 to 17:00 in each place:
- New York has no overlap at all: when it is 09:00 there, it is already 18:30 in Chennai, so a call means an early start or a late finish for someone.
- London overlaps for only 3½ hours, from 13:30 to 17:00 Chennai time — late in the day at one end and early at the other.
- Tokyo overlaps for only 4½ hours, from 09:00 to 13:30 Chennai time — late in the day at one end and early at the other.
These windows use the offsets in force on 2026-10-09; where one side observes daylight saving and the other does not, they move by an hour twice a year.
Time difference from your location
Chennai is currently on UTC+05:30. Once the page has loaded, this section compares it with the time zone your browser reports.
Chennai compared with other cities
| City | Local time | Date | UTC offset | Difference from Chennai |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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Nearby cities
Other places in this directory that keep Asia/Kolkata time: New Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Pune, Ahmedabad and Jaipur. Their clocks match Chennai’s exactly, including any daylight saving change. The nearest listed city on a different zone identifier is Colombo, about 690 km away on Asia/Colombo, which shows the same clock time as Chennai today.
Time zone rules: IANA tz database release 2026c, applied when this page was generated on 2026-10-09. Sun times: NOAA solar equations for 13.08°N, 80.27°E, flat horizon at sea level.
Frequently asked questions
What time zone is Chennai in?
Chennai uses the Asia/Kolkata time zone — India Standard Time, UTC+05:30.
Does Chennai use daylight saving time?
Chennai does not observe daylight saving time, so it stays on India Standard Time (UTC+05:30) all year.
What is the UTC offset for Chennai?
The standard offset is UTC+05:30 all year. The clock at the top of this page shows the offset that applies right now.
What is the time difference between Chennai and my location?
The section above compares Chennai with your own time zone as detected by your browser, and the table lists the difference against major cities worldwide.