Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) is the primary time standard by which the world regulates clocks and time. UTC is based on the rotation of the Earth on its axis and is the time standard that is used by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).
UTC is used as the basis for time zones around the world. The time in each time zone is offset from UTC by a whole number of hours. For example, the Eastern Time Zone (UTC-05:00) is five hours behind UTC, while the Central Time Zone (UTC-06:00) is six hours behind UTC.
UTC is not affected by Daylight Saving Time (DST), which is used in many countries to extend the amount of daylight in the evenings during the warmer months of the year. This means that UTC always stays the same, regardless of the time of year.
UTC is used as the primary time standard by most countries in the world. However, a few countries (such as Iran and Belarus) have their own time standard that is based on the local time in the capital city rather than UTC.
UTC is abbreviated as UTC+00:00 and is sometimes referred to as Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), which is the time standard that was used in the United Kingdom before UTC was adopted as the primary time standard.
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