Alaska Time Zone | |
---|---|
Time zone | |
UTC offset | |
AKST | UTC−09:00 |
AKDT | UTC−08:00 |
Current time | |
09:11, 16 August 2024 AKST [refresh] 10:11, 16 August 2024 AKDT [refresh] | |
Observance of DST | |
DST is observed throughout this time zone. |
The Alaska Time Zone observes standard time by subtracting nine hours from Coordinated Universal Time (UTC−09:00). During daylight saving time its time offset is eight hours (UTC−08:00). The clock time in this zone is based on mean solar time at the 135th meridian west of the Greenwich Observatory.
The zone includes nearly all of the U.S. state of Alaska and is one hour behind the Pacific Time Zone.
The western Aleutian Islands observe Hawaii–Aleutian Time, one hour behind the remainder of the state.
The largest city in the Alaskan Time Zone is Anchorage, Alaska. The Anchorage Metropolitan Area is the largest metropolitan area in the zone.
Effective from 2007, the local time changes from AKST to AKDT at 02:00 LST (local standard time) to 03:00 LDT (local daylight time) on the second Sunday in March and returns at 02:00 LDT to 01:00 LST on the first Sunday in November. As such, Alaska spends most of the year on daylight saving time rather than standard time.