Current Time in Honolulu
The clock shows Honolulu time to the second. Hawaii keeps HST, UTC−10, every day of the year, so the gap to the mainland changes when the mainland moves its clocks.
Current time in Honolulu
- IANA zone
- Current time in Honolulu
UTC−10
Hawaii-Aleutian Standard Time, kept in Honolulu all year
Hawaii opted out of daylight saving time, as the US Department of Transportation's daylight saving page notes.
Why Hawaii skips daylight saving
Near the tropics, day length changes little through the year: in Honolulu the longest day is only about two and a half hours longer than the shortest. Hawaii tried daylight time briefly in 1933 and used war time during the Second World War, and it has stayed on standard time since it moved its offset from UTC−10:30 to UTC−10 in 1947.
US federal law lets a state stay on standard time all year, and Hawaii does. The same law does not let a state stay on daylight time all year without an act of Congress.
Hawaii's time zone is also used, in winter only, by the far western Aleutian Islands of Alaska. Those islands switch to daylight time in summer, while Honolulu stays where it is, which is why the zone keeps two names: HST and, for the Aleutians in summer, HDT.
- IANA zone
- Pacific/Honolulu
- Standard time
- HST · UTC−10
- Daylight saving time
- Not observed
Honolulu and the mainland
| City | In January | In July |
|---|---|---|
| Anchorage | +1 | +2 |
| Seattle | +2 | +3 |
| Denver | +3 | +4 |
| Vancouver | +3 | +3 |
| Houston | +4 | +5 |
| Lima | +5 | +5 |
| Toronto | +5 | +6 |
| Washington, D.C. | +5 | +6 |
| Buenos Aires | +7 | +7 |
| São Paulo | +7 | +7 |
| London | +10 | +11 |
| Amsterdam | +11 | +12 |
| Berlin | +11 | +12 |
| Madrid | +11 | +12 |
| Paris | +11 | +12 |
| Zurich | +11 | +12 |
| Athens | +12 | +13 |
| Cairo | +12 | +13 |
| Johannesburg | +12 | +12 |
| Doha | +13 | +13 |
| Nairobi | +13 | +13 |
| Riyadh | +13 | +13 |
| Dubai | +14 | +14 |
| Delhi | +15:30 | +15:30 |
| Dhaka | +16 | +16 |
| Ho Chi Minh City | +17 | +17 |
| Kuala Lumpur | +18 | +18 |
| Manila | +18 | +18 |
| Perth | +18 | +18 |
| Shanghai | +18 | +18 |
| Taipei | +18 | +18 |
| Seoul | +19 | +19 |
| Brisbane | +20 | +20 |
| Melbourne | +21 | +20 |
| Sydney | +21 | +20 |
Hours to add to the time in Honolulu; a minus sign means the other city is behind
The two-step gap catches travelers out. In winter Los Angeles is two hours ahead of Honolulu and New York five; in summer the gaps grow to three and six. The HST to PST converter shows each hour against Pacific time.
Across the Pacific, Tokyo and Seoul are nineteen hours ahead and Sydney twenty or twenty-one, depending on Australian daylight saving.
Hawaii is also far enough west that some mainland schedules feel out of step: stock markets in New York open at 4:30 AM Honolulu time in winter and 3:30 AM in summer.
Live sports and TV start early in Hawaii
Events scheduled for the East Coast evening air in Honolulu in the early afternoon: an 8:00 PM ET broadcast is 3:00 PM in Hawaii in winter and 2:00 PM in summer.
Honolulu time questions
Does Hawaii observe daylight saving time?
No. Hawaii is one of two US states, with most of Arizona, that keep standard time all year.
How many hours behind California is Hawaii?
Two hours from November to March and three hours while California is on daylight time.
What does HST stand for?
Hawaii-Aleutian Standard Time, UTC−10. Hawaii uses it all year; the western Aleutian Islands use it only in winter.
What is the time difference between Honolulu and New York?
Five hours in winter and six hours during US daylight saving time.
Is Honolulu behind Tokyo by a day?
Almost. Tokyo is nineteen hours ahead, so for most of the Honolulu day it is already the next date in Japan.