Timezone vs UTC vs Local Time

Local time is what a wall clock shows in one place. UTC is a shared reference without DST. IANA zones (like Asia/Kolkata, America/New_York) encode the rules that map UTC ↔ local for that region — including daylight saving where it applies.

Decision table

You have…	Prefer
Instant for APIs/logs	Unix or ISO with explicit Z / offset — see ISO vs Unix
“3pm my time → their time”	Timezone Converter
Multiple city wall clocks	World Clock

Common pitfalls

1. Sharing “3pm” without a zone — ambiguous for remote teams.
2. Ignoring DST — spring-forward / fall-back changes the offset on some dates.
3. Hard-coding UTC+5:30 — use Asia/Kolkata (or the right IANA id) so rules stay correct.

Workflow

1. Pick the meeting’s from zone (usually yours).
2. Add target zones in Timezone Converter.
3. Paste the ISO/local datetime; copy each city’s wall time.
4. Put zone abbreviations in the calendar invite.

Hub: Date & Time Ops.