The Time Conundrum: Afghanistan's Approach To Daylight Saving Time

Afghanistan does not observe Daylight Saving Time (DST) and has never done so. The country uses Afghanistan Time (AFT) all year round, which is UTC+04:30. This means that Afghanistan is four and a half hours ahead of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). Despite spanning almost two geographical time zones, Afghanistan uses just one time zone across the whole nation and all its territories.

Afghanistan Time (AFT)

Afghanistan does not observe daylight saving time (DST) and has never done so. This means that the clocks in Afghanistan do not change throughout the year, and there is no summer time. The country uses just one time zone across the whole nation and all its territories.

The IANA time zone identifier for Afghanistan is Asia/Kabul. The territory of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan is covered in the IANA time zone database.

The last time Afghanistan observed DST was in 1944.

Afghanistan's time zones

Afghanistan follows a single standard time offset of UTC+04:30, which is four and a half hours ahead of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). This is despite the country spanning almost two geographical time zones. The official national standard time is Afghanistan Time (AFT) internationally.

Afghanistan does not observe daylight saving time (DST) or summer time. The country uses just one time zone across the whole nation and all its territories. Clocks in Afghanistan do not change.

The IANA time zone database covers the territory of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. The IANA time zone identifier for the country is Asia/Kabul.

The last time Afghanistan observed DST was in 1944.

Afghanistan's history with DST

Afghanistan has never observed Daylight Saving Time (DST). The country uses Afghanistan Time (AFT) all year round and does not change its clocks.

Afghanistan follows a single standard time offset of UTC+04:30, even though the country spans almost two geographical time zones. The official national standard time is called Afghanistan Time (AFT) internationally.

Other countries that use DST

Afghanistan does not observe daylight savings time (DST), also known as summer time. The country uses Afghanistan Time (AFT) or UTC+04:30, even though it spans almost two geographical time zones.

• Most of Europe
• Most of North America
• Parts of Africa
• Parts of Asia
• Parts of South America
• Parts of Oceania

The following is a list of countries and regions that practice time change (DST) or have done so in the past:

• Canada (except Yukon, most of Saskatchewan, and parts of British Columbia, Nunavut, Ontario, and Quebec)
• Greenland: Pituffik Space Base
• Mexico: Baja California, and municipalities near the U.S. border except in Sonora
• Saint Pierre and Miquelon
• Turks and Caicos Islands
• United States (except Arizona, Hawaii, and U.S. territories)
• European Union (except Overseas France)
• Akrotiri and Dhekelia
• Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Greenland (except Pituffik Space Base and the east coast of National Park)
• Ukraine (except occupied territories)
• Chile (except Magallanes Region)
• Australia: Australian Capital Territory, Jervis Bay Territory, New South Wales (except Lord Howe Island), Norfolk Island, South Australia, Tasmania, and Victoria
• Lord Howe Island
• Morocco (including the portion of Western Sahara that it administers)

Countries that have stopped using DST in the last decade

• Azerbaijan
• Iran
• Jordan
• Namibia
• Russia
• Samoa
• Syria
• Turkey
• Uruguay
• Egypt

Time in Afghanistan's capital, Kabul

Afghanistan does not observe daylight savings time (DST). The country uses Afghanistan Time (AFT) all year round, which is a single standard time offset of UTC+04:30. This means AFT is four and a half hours ahead of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC).

Afghanistan's capital, Kabul, follows AFT as the country uses one time zone across the whole nation and its territories. Kabul's IANA time zone identifier is Asia/Kabul.

Since Afghanistan does not observe DST, there are no time changes in Kabul throughout the year. The clocks in Kabul do not change and will remain at AFT.

AFT is one of the exceptions to the usual whole-hour time zone offsets from UTC. The use of AFT across Afghanistan means that there is a notable difference in sunrise times across the country. People in the west of Afghanistan experience sunrise almost an hour later than those living in the far east of the country.

Frequently asked questions