Hi so I’ve recently got a mail from my first client ever to schedule a meeting for ” 1:00 pm (GMT+2)” Im from india and the client is from Switzerland. So is meeting supposed to be at 1:00 pm according to my time zone or what?
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Okay so GMT is short for Greenwich Mean Time, and refers to the time zone that Greenwich in the UK is in. This time zone is commonly used as a baseline for other time zones. As for what this means for you, if i remember correctly, there’s a 5 and a half hour gap between GMT and India, so 1:00 PM GMT+2 would be three and a half hours later for you, or 4:30 PM in your time zone.
Your client is in Switzerland, and their time zone is GMT+2, GMT being UK time (Greenwich Mean Time).
I use this tool:
https://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/meeting.html
I don’t know where exactly you are in India but I have used New Delhi in this example:
https://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/meetingtime.html?iso=20220518&p1=268&p2=176
Meeting is at 1 pm their time, which is 2 hours ahead of GMT (GMT +2). Means the meeting is at 11 am GMT.
India Standard Time is 5.5 hours ahead of GMT (GMT +5.5) so that’d be 4:30 pm India time
That’s why you have to select time zone when setting up PC’s and laptops. That allows Windows to display the proper time.
They are saying that they mean the local time of Switzerland.
Since most people don’t know all the timezones of all the places in the world off the top of their head, thy wrote this as GMT+2
GMT+2 means that it is 2 hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time.
Switzerland uses CET (Central European Time) which is 1 hour ahead of GMT in the winter and two during the summer.
All you need to know is what timezone you are in and you can figure out the difference between you and any other timezone given in this format by simple math.
India is GMT +5½. Most place have a full hour offset from GMT but India is one of the exception and is 5 hours and 30 minutes out.
so since 2 – 5.5 is -3.5 you know that your clock will display a time three and a half hours before the same time gets displayed on a clock in Switzerland.
So the meeting is at 16:30 for you.
There are lots of helpful website that can convert it for you and even google will calculate times to your local time if you search in the right format.
If your email is properly configured it will also convert invites to meeting automatically to your local time.
Time zones are all noted with reference to GMT – Greenwich mean time, which is the time in London.
When someone noted their time zone as GMT+2, that means they are two hours ahead of GMT – when it is 12 o’clock midday in London, it will be 2 o’clock in the afternoon in Switzerland.
India makes it slightly awkward by including a half hour time difference at GMT+5.5, but it works just the same – when it is 12 o’clock midday in London, it will be 5:30 in the evening in India.
To move between different time zones, it may be easiest to convert them both to GMT – so 1 o’clock in Switzerland at GMT+2 is the same as 11 o’clock in London at GMT+0.
11 o’clock in London at GMT+0 will then be equal to 4:30 in India at GMT+5.5.
Once you get used to it you can then shortcut the converting to GMT part by just figuring out the time difference – GMT+5.5 minus GMT+2 means India is +3.5 hours compared to Switzerland, so any time you are given written in GMT+2, you just need to add 3.5 hours to to get the equivalent in your time zone.
The short way of reading that is “the time this person thinks of as 1pm, is equal to GMT+2 hours”
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