Time ZonesAbout this time zone
All of the Cook Islands keeps one time. Computers and phones know it by the zone name Pacific/Rarotonga. Its time is UTC−10, which means it is 10 hours behind Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) all year round. Compared with India (IST), it is 15 hours 30 minutes behind India.
Clock changes in 2026 and 2027
Cook Islands does not change its clocks in 2026 or 2027. The time stays at UTC−10 all year, so there is no daylight saving time to remember.
Time difference with major cities
| When it is 12:00 noon in Cook Islands, it is | In January 2026 | In July 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| India | 3:30 am next day15 hours 30 minutes ahead | 3:30 am next day15 hours 30 minutes ahead |
| United Kingdom | 10:00 pm10 hours ahead | 11:00 pm11 hours ahead |
| France | 11:00 pm11 hours ahead | 12:00 am next day12 hours ahead |
| New York, United States | 5:00 pm5 hours ahead | 6:00 pm6 hours ahead |
| Chicago, United States | 4:00 pm4 hours ahead | 5:00 pm5 hours ahead |
| Los Angeles, United States | 2:00 pm2 hours ahead | 3:00 pm3 hours ahead |
| United Arab Emirates | 2:00 am next day14 hours ahead | 2:00 am next day14 hours ahead |
| Singapore | 6:00 am next day18 hours ahead | 6:00 am next day18 hours ahead |
| Japan | 7:00 am next day19 hours ahead | 7:00 am next day19 hours ahead |
| Sydney, Australia | 9:00 am next day21 hours ahead | 8:00 am next day20 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 Cook Islands
A time zone is an agreement, and the sun does not follow it exactly. Avarua, the largest city in this zone, lies at about 159.8° west. Each degree of longitude is worth four minutes, so by the sun alone its time would be about 10 hours 39 minutes behind UTC. The clock is set to UTC−10. The sun is therefore highest in the sky at about 12:39 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 Avarua, 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
Avarua is about 21.2° south of the equator. On the longest day of the year, around 21 December, the sun is up for about 13 hours 25 minutes. On the shortest, around 21 June, for about 10 hours 50 minutes. The difference between summer and winter is about 2 hours 35 minutes, and the clocks stay the same all year.
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 Cook Islands.
- With India, all year: 5:30 pm to 6:00 pm here, which is 9:00 am to 9:30 am in India (30 minutes shared).
- With London, in January: no shared office hour: 9:00 am here is 7:00 pm in London, and 6:00 pm here is 4:00 am there, so one side has to start early or stay late. In July: no shared office hour: 9:00 am here is 8:00 pm in London, and 6:00 pm here is 5:00 am there, so one side has to start early or stay late.
- With New York, in January: 9:00 am to 1:00 pm here, which is 2:00 pm to 6:00 pm in New York (4 hours shared). In July: 9:00 am to 12:00 pm here, which is 3:00 pm to 6:00 pm in New York (3 hours shared).
How many people keep this time
The GeoNames list has 1 place of 15,000 people or more in this zone area, Avarua, with about 13,000 people. 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: Avarua.
Places with exactly the same time
These zones show the same time as Cook Islands through the whole year: Honolulu, United States, Tahiti, French Polynesia.
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.