Time zone · Antarctic
VOSTOK
Vostok Time
Vostok Time keeps clocks five hours ahead of UTC year-round, serving Antarctic research operations without seasonal clock shifts. Russia's Vostok Station moved from UTC+07:00 to UTC+05:00 on 18 December 2023.
Thursday, October 15, 2026
Current offset
UTC+05:00
Standard · +05
Daylight saving
Not observed
Year-round standard time
IANA zones
1
None observe daylight saving
DST offset
—
No summer variant
About VOSTOK
A fixed, year-round offset.
Vostok Time keeps clocks five hours ahead of UTC year-round, serving Antarctic research operations without seasonal clock shifts. Russia's Vostok Station moved from UTC+07:00 to UTC+05:00 on 18 December 2023.
IANA zones · the technical identifiers
The zone that resolve to VOSTOK.
For software, always store the IANA identifier — never the abbreviation alone. The database keeps these zones distinct because their rules can, and historically did, diverge.
Where VOSTOK is used
One country.
Same offset · UTC+05:00
Other zones at UTC+05:00 right now.
These named zones share VOSTOK's offset today. When daylight saving rules differ, they drift apart for part of the year.
Convert
VOSTOK to the world's clocks.
Frequently asked questions
Common questions about VOSTOK, daylight saving, and how to handle it in software. Can't find what you need? Email [email protected].
- Is Vostok Time the only Antarctic timezone?
- No, Antarctica uses multiple zones anchored to different research stations. Vostok Time serves Russia's Vostok Station, which lies in the part of Antarctica claimed by Australia.
- How long has this region kept UTC+05:00?
- Vostok has used UTC+05:00 since 18 December 2023. Before that it kept UTC+07:00 from the station's founding in 1957, apart from a break in 1994 when the station was temporarily closed.
- What do labels like +05 mean in emails?
- They signal a five-hour advance from UTC. If you coordinate cargo drops or remote support for Vostok, add five hours to convert your time to station local time.
- Do humans actually live at Vostok Station year-round?
- Yes. Russia's Vostok Station is staffed all year by small rotating crews. In 1983 it recorded −89.2 °C, the lowest air temperature ever measured directly on Earth.
- Why is Vostok Time tied to UTC+05:00 instead of UTC+00:00 or UTC+06:00?
- Russian polar logistics route supplies through time zones east of Moscow. The five-hour mark simplifies communication windows with authorities in Russia rather than neighboring Antarctic zones.
Source: IANA tzdb2026d · Reviewed
Free · Developer API
This time zone, as JSON.
Its defining offset, DST status and member counts, from one endpoint.
Also in the API: time zones by coordinates, conversions that flag daylight saving gaps, and abbreviations decoded.
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