Time ZonesAbout this time zone
Kuching is one of the 2 time zone areas of Malaysia. Computers and phones know it by the zone name Asia/Kuching. Its time is UTC+8, which means it is 8 hours ahead of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) all year round. Compared with India (IST), it is 2 hours 30 minutes ahead of India.
Clock changes in 2026 and 2027
Kuching does not change its clocks in 2026 or 2027. The time stays at UTC+8 all year, so there is no daylight saving time to remember.
Time difference with major cities
| When it is 12:00 noon in Kuching, it is | In January 2026 | In July 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| India | 9:30 am2 hours 30 minutes behind | 9:30 am2 hours 30 minutes behind |
| United Kingdom | 4:00 am8 hours behind | 5:00 am7 hours behind |
| France | 5:00 am7 hours behind | 6:00 am6 hours behind |
| New York, United States | 11:00 pm previous day13 hours behind | 12:00 am12 hours behind |
| Chicago, United States | 10:00 pm previous day14 hours behind | 11:00 pm previous day13 hours behind |
| Los Angeles, United States | 8:00 pm previous day16 hours behind | 9:00 pm previous day15 hours behind |
| United Arab Emirates | 8:00 am4 hours behind | 8:00 am4 hours behind |
| Singapore | 12:00 pmsame time | 12:00 pmsame time |
| Japan | 1:00 pm1 hour ahead | 1:00 pm1 hour ahead |
| Sydney, Australia | 3:00 pm3 hours ahead | 2:00 pm2 hours ahead |
The table uses the offsets in force in mid January and mid July 2026. Use the converter for any other date.
Clock time and sun time in Kuching
A time zone is an agreement, and the sun does not follow it exactly. Kota Kinabalu, the largest city in this zone, lies at about 116.1° east. Each degree of longitude is worth four minutes, so by the sun alone its time would be about 7 hours 44 minutes ahead of UTC. The clock is set to UTC+8. The sun is therefore highest in the sky at about 12:16 pm by the clock, not at 12:00. The clock runs ahead of the sun here, which means later sunrises and lighter evenings than the map alone would give. Other places in the zone, to the east or west of Kota Kinabalu, see the sun peak a little earlier or later. Through the year the figure also drifts by up to a quarter of an hour either way.
How long the day is
Kota Kinabalu is about 6° north of the equator. On the longest day of the year, around 21 June, the sun is up for about 12 hours 28 minutes. On the shortest, around 21 December, for about 11 hours 47 minutes. So close to the equator the day is almost the same length all year. Moving the clocks would gain nothing, and Kuching does not do it.
Office hours shared with other places
If both sides work from 9 am to 6 pm, these are the hours when a call falls inside the working day at both ends. Times are for Kuching.
- With India, all year: 11:30 am to 6:00 pm here, which is 9:00 am to 3:30 pm in India (6 hours 30 minutes shared).
- With London, in January: 5:00 pm to 6:00 pm here, which is 9:00 am to 10:00 am in London (1 hour shared). In July: 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm here, which is 9:00 am to 11:00 am in London (2 hours shared).
- With New York, in January: no shared office hour: 9:00 am here is 8:00 pm in New York, and 6:00 pm here is 5:00 am there, so one side has to start early or stay late. In July: no shared office hour: 9:00 am here is 9:00 pm in New York, and 6:00 pm here is 6:00 am there, so one side has to start early or stay late.
How many people keep this time
The GeoNames list has 52 towns and cities of 15,000 people or more in this zone area, with about 4 million people between them. People in villages and smaller towns are not in that count, so the true number on this clock is higher.
Cities that keep this time
The largest cities in this zone: Kota Kinabalu, Sandakan, Kuching, Tawau, Miri, Sibu, Bintulu, Lahad Datu, Marudi, Putatan, Donggongon, Keningau, Semporna, Serian.
Places with exactly the same time
These zones show the same time as Kuching through the whole year: Brunei, Hong Kong, Irkutsk, Russia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Macau, Macao, Makassar, Indonesia, Manila, Philippines, Shanghai, China, Singapore, Taipei, Taiwan, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, Perth, Australia.
The clock above uses your device's clock and the time zone rules built into your browser. Rules on this page: IANA time zone database 2026f. See About and data sources.