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Quick Answer

What is PST time right now?

PST is Pacific Standard Time (UTC-08:00). The current PST time is 02:47.

Pacific Standard Time (PST) is UTC-08:00, used in the western United States and Canada during winter. In summer, the zone observes Pacific Daylight Time (PDT, UTC-07:00). British Columbia adopted permanent UTC-07:00 on March 8, 2026, ending its PST/PDT cycle.

Pacific Standard Time

02:47

Friday, March 6, 2026

UTC-08:00 • America/Los_Angeles

Last updated: March 6, 2026

What Is PST?

PST stands for Pacific Standard Time, a timezone at UTC-08:00 (8 hours behind Coordinated Universal Time) from Coordinated Universal Time. It is used in Western United States, Western Canada. The IANA Time Zone Database, the authoritative global reference used by operating systems, programming languages, and web services, records this zone under the identifier America/Los_Angeles. IANA identifiers are unambiguous: America/Los_Angeles maps to exactly one timezone in the world, unlike the abbreviation PST, which is specific to this region. During Daylight Saving Time, clocks advance one hour to PDT (UTC-07:00).

Current PST Time and Date

The clock above shows the current PST time: 02:47 on Friday, March 6, 2026. It is calculated using the browser's Intl.DateTimeFormat API with the IANA identifier America/Los_Angeles, the same source your phone and laptop use for timezone conversions. The time updates every second. If you need a static reference, note that PST is always UTC-08:00 from UTC during standard time (winter). During summer, PDT applies at UTC-07:00.

PST to UTC Conversion

To convert PST to UTC: add 08:00 to the PST time. Example: 09:00 PST = 17:00 UTC. In ISO 8601 format, a PST timestamp is written as 2026-03-06T02:47:00-08:00. This format is unambiguous and machine-readable, always prefer it over abbreviation-only notation for data exchange.

Cities in the PST Timezone

Major cities that observe PST (UTC-08:00) include:

These cities all share the IANA zone identifier America/Los_Angeles (or a zone with the same current offset). Click any city link to see its live clock, DST status, and time difference from major world cities.

DST Transition Dates for PST

Pacific Standard Time observes Daylight Saving Time. During DST, clocks advance by one hour to PDT (UTC-07:00).

In the United States and Canada, DST begins on the second Sunday of March (clocks spring forward at 02:00 local) and ends on the first Sunday of November (clocks fall back at 02:00 local). For 2026: DST starts March 8, ends November 1.

During the transition period, when North America and Europe are mid-switch, the offset between PST cities and other timezones changes temporarily. The live clock on this page always reflects the correct current offset.

DST Variants: PST vs PDT

PST (UTC-08:00) is the standard time variant, observed during winter months. During Daylight Saving Time, the zone advances to PDT (UTC-07:00). In 2026, North American DST begins March 8, 2026 at 2:00 AM (clocks spring forward) and ends November 1, 2026 at 2:00 AM (clocks fall back). The distinction matters: a meeting scheduled for "14:00 PST" in January means UTC-08:00; the same description used in July almost certainly means PDT (UTC-07:00), which many people informally call "PST" year-round.

2026 Update: British Columbia and Permanent Daylight Time

On March 8, 2026, British Columbia (BC) adopted permanent Daylight Saving Time, permanently observing UTC-7 year-round instead of cycling between PST (UTC-8, winter) and PDT (UTC-7, summer). This means BC is no longer on Pacific Standard Time during winter months. BC clocks no longer change. Residents of BC who previously set clocks back in November now stay on UTC-7 permanently.

Other Pacific states (California, Washington, Oregon, Nevada) continue to observe the standard PST/PDT cycle: UTC-8 in winter, UTC-7 in summer. Scheduling calls between BC and California now requires checking whether California is currently on PST or PDT, as BC no longer changes. During winter (November to March), California is on PST (UTC-8) while BC is on permanent UTC-7, a 1-hour difference. During summer, both are at UTC-7 and no difference exists.

Why Timezone Abbreviations Are Ambiguous

ISO 8601, the international standard for date and time notation, does not define timezone abbreviations. IANA, which maintains the authoritative timezone database, uses geographic identifiers (America/New_York, Asia/Kolkata) rather than abbreviations. Abbreviations emerged from railway timetables and military communications in the 19th and early 20th centuries, before any international standardization effort.

The result is a patchwork. EST is used in North America for UTC-05:00 and in parts of Australia for UTC+10:00 or UTC+11:00. IST covers three different UTC offsets across three continents. CST applies to UTC-06:00 (US Central), UTC+08:00 (China), and UTC-05:00 (Cuba). Even GMT, seemingly the anchor, is used differently than UTC: GMT is a timezone designation specific to the UK and West Africa, while UTC is the mathematical standard maintained by atomic clocks. They share the same offset (UTC+00:00) but are not interchangeable in formal contexts.

Best practice: always write the numeric offset alongside the abbreviation (PST (UTC-08:00)) or use ISO 8601 format for machine-readable timestamps. For the IANA identifier, use America/Los_Angeles.

Converting PST to Major World Timezones

Current conversions from PST (02:47) to other major timezones:

  • New York (EST/EDT): 05:47 (UTC-05:00)
  • London (GMT/BST): 10:47 (UTC+00:00)
  • Dubai (GST): 14:47 (UTC+04:00)
  • India (IST): 16:17 (UTC+05:30)
  • Singapore (SGT): 18:47 (UTC+08:00)
  • Tokyo (JST): 19:47 (UTC+09:00)
  • Sydney (AEST/AEDT): 21:47 (UTC+11:00)

Frequently Asked Questions

What is PST?

PST stands for Pacific Standard Time, a timezone at UTC-08:00 from Coordinated Universal Time. During Daylight Saving Time, it advances to PDT (UTC-07:00). The IANA identifier is America/Los_Angeles.

What time is it in PST right now?

The current time in PST (Pacific Standard Time, UTC-08:00) is 02:47 on Friday, March 6, 2026. This clock is calculated using the IANA Time Zone Database identifier America/Los_Angeles.

Is PST the same as UTC-08:00?

Yes, PST (Pacific Standard Time) is exactly UTC-08:00. To convert PST to UTC, add 08:00 hours.

Does PST observe Daylight Saving Time?

PST (Pacific Standard Time, UTC-08:00) is the standard-time variant and does observe DST. During summer, clocks advance to PDT (UTC-07:00). In 2026 for North American zones: DST starts March 8 (clocks spring forward) and ends November 1 (clocks fall back). The switch means meeting times that say "14:00 PST" in January become "14:00 PDT" in summer, at the same UTC time.

What countries or regions use PST?

Pacific Standard Time (PST, UTC-08:00) is used in: Western United States, Western Canada. This abbreviation is not shared with other timezones, though always confirm the UTC offset (UTC-08:00) to be certain.

How do I convert PST time to UTC?

To convert PST (UTC-08:00) to UTC: add 08:00 to the PST time. Example: 09:00 PST = 17:00 UTC. In ISO 8601 format, include the offset explicitly: a PST timestamp looks like 2026-03-05T14:00:00-08:00. This format is unambiguous and safe for international data exchange.