All About Perth

If you're trying to figure out the time in Perth, Western Australia, it's very simple.

Perth is in the GMT +8 timezone, which means we're 8 hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time.

Therefore, you just need to know what your locality's time zone is, and make the appropriate adjustment to get the current time.

The two slightly complex rules to keep in mind are:

1) When the timezone is a negative GMT zone, you add the positive of that zone to 8 (the Perth time zone) and ADD the current time in your locality to get the current Perth time in 24 hr clock format.

2) When the timezone is a positive GMT zone, you subtract the zone FROM 8 (the Perth time zone) and ADD the current time in your locality to get the current Perth time in 24 hr clock format.

Let's look at a couple of examples to help you work out what time it is in Perth at the moment:

USA Time Zone Calculations

Eastern Time is GMT -4, therefore add 4+8 hrs to your EST time and you'll have the time in Perth in 24 hr clock format. Ex: 9am EST = (4+8+9) 21:00 hrs Perth time (9pm)

Pacific Time is GMT -7, therefore add 7+8 hrs to your EST and you'll have the time in Perth in 24 hr clock format. Ex: 9am PST = (7+8+9) 24:00 hrs Perth time (Midnight)

UK Time Zone Calculations

London (and most of the UK) is GMT 0, therefore add 0+8 hrs to your local time and you'll have the time in Perth in 24 hr clock format. Ex: 9am  = (0+8+9) 17:00 hrs Perth time (5pm)

South African Time Zone Calculations

South Africa is GMT +1 or +2, therefore ADD 8-1 (or 8-2) to the local time, and you'll have the time in Perth in 24 hr clock format. Ex: 9am  = (8-1+9) 16:00 hrs Perth time (4pm) or (8-2+9) 15:00 hrs (3pm) Perth time.

It's a little bit complex for some of these time zones, but at the end of the day, it ends up being very simple once you've had some practise doing a few of these. Just remember that the time in Perth is 8 hrs ahead of GMT and you can't go far wrong.

By the way, I haven't taken Daylight savings into account with the above calculations. If it is operating in your location and/or in Perth, it WILL effect your results. I recommend you do some google searches to find out whether it's going to apply or not.

Information about Greenwich Mean Time

The History of Time – interesting stuff.

Time Zones in Australia – official Govt site