Understanding Coordinated Universal Time
UTC is the world’s official timekeeping standard. All global time zones are defined relative to UTC, making it essential for aviation, servers, satellites, banking, navigation and international communication.
UTC vs GMT
While GMT is historically based on Earth’s rotation, UTC is based on atomic clock precision. Both represent the same current time, but UTC is the modern reference used in computing.
Why UTC Matters
- Standard reference for all time zones
- Used in databases, APIs and operating systems
- Prevents timezone-related errors
- Highly accurate thanks to atomic clock calibration