What time is it around the world?

Tomorrow, people in America will set their clocks back by one hour. Why do clocks change, and why is the time different in other countries?

News Nibbles Edition 4 · Saturday 31 October 2026· Page 4 of the paper

Four clocks, all at the same moment. A drawing.

Earth is always spinning. When our side faces the Sun, it is day. When it turns away, it is night. So when it is morning in India, it can be night in America!

That is why countries use different times, called time zones. All of India uses one time. Senegal and Britain are 5 and a half hours behind us.

Clocks go back!

In some countries, people move their clocks forward in spring and back in autumn. This gives them more daylight in summer evenings. Britain moved its clocks back last Sunday. America does it tomorrow, Sunday 1 November: at 2 o’clock at night, the clocks go back to 1 o’clock. Everyone gets an extra hour of sleep!

India does not change its clocks at all.

Draw the hands

The short hand shows the hour. The long hand shows the minutes.

Time math

The Youth Olympics start in Dakar today (page 13). If an event starts at 2 o’clock in Dakar, what time is that here? Add 5 and a half hours:

Did you know?A day on Earth is 24 hours. That is how long Earth takes to spin around once.

Big wordtime zone
A part of the world where everyone uses the same clock time.

Nibbles asksWho do you know who lives in another country? What time is it there right now?