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Current Time in Cairo
Cairo runs on Eastern European Time (UTC+2) in winter and, since 2023, Eastern European Summer Time (UTC+3) in summer. Here's the exact time right now, this year's clock-change dates, sunrise/sunset, moon phase, and how it compares to your own clock.
Cairo time
Africa/Cairo
Cairo
Your time
Comparing to your device's time zone…
Greater Cairo, 2025 estimate
Sky & Location Data
Computed for Cairo's exact coordinates — not a generic estimate.
Best Time to Call
Overlap between Cairo's 9:00–18:00 workday and a typical 9:00–17:00 day elsewhere, calculated live for today.
| City | Their time now | Good window (Cairo time) |
|---|---|---|
| Calculating… | ||
The most volatile daylight saving history on this site
No city covered here has flip-flopped on daylight saving time quite like Cairo. Egypt first instituted DST in 1940, during the Second World War, then stopped it in 1945, resumed it in 1957, and abolished it in April 2011. In May 2014 it was reinstated, this time with a special exception that suspended the clock change during Ramadan, only to be cancelled again in April 2015. A restart was scheduled for July 2016 — and cancelled just three days beforehand. Egypt then went nearly seven years on fixed standard time, until March 2023, when the government announced DST would return; clocks moved forward on April 28, 2023 and back on October 26, 2023, and the practice has continued on a "last Friday in April to last Thursday in October" schedule since. As of the mid-2020s, Egypt is the only African country currently observing daylight saving time.
Africa's only daylight-saving capital
Cairo's neighbor to the south on this site, Johannesburg, has never observed daylight saving time at all — South Africa's fixed UTC+2 offset has stayed constant since the country adopted standard time. Cairo's back-and-forth, now-observed status makes an interesting contrast: two African capitals that currently sit on the exact same UTC+2 standard time in winter, but diverge completely once Cairo's clocks move forward each spring.
Time differences from Cairo
Cairo's DST calendar (late April to late October) doesn't line up with the EU's (late March to late October), so gaps to European cities shift briefly each spring.
| City | Typical difference | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Johannesburg | Same time (winter) / Cairo +1h (summer) | Johannesburg has no DST at all |
| Dubai | Dubai +2h (winter) / +1h (summer) | Dubai has no DST |
| Istanbul | Same time or Istanbul +1h | Istanbul keeps a fixed UTC+3 year-round |
| London | Cairo +2h (+1h briefly in spring) | UK and Egypt shift DST on different dates |
| New York | Cairo +7h (+6h in EDT) | US observes seasonal DST |
Dubai is a useful anchor comparison — it never shifts its own clock, so any change in the gap to Dubai is purely Cairo's own DST moving.
Working hours and when to call
Cairo keeps a standard workweek that commonly runs Sunday through Thursday, with business hours roughly 9:00–17:00.
- From Dubai or Istanbul: comfortable overlap most of the day.
- From London: full overlap, two hours apart or less.
- From New York: a Cairo morning call lands very early in New York — a Cairo afternoon call works better.
Daylight through the year
At roughly 30°N, Cairo sees a moderate seasonal swing — about 10 hours of daylight around the December solstice, stretching to about 14 hours around the June solstice, with DST pushing summer sunsets later still on the clock.
How we calculate this page: the live clock, UTC offset, and DST dates above are read directly from the IANA Africa/Cairo time zone data via your browser, not hard-coded. Sunrise, sunset, solar noon, and twilight times are computed from Cairo's exact coordinates (30.0444°N, 31.2357°E) using standard solar position formulas, recalculated on every page load. Moon phase is derived from the current synodic month. Airport distance uses the great-circle formula from those same coordinates to each airport's published location.
Frequently asked questions
What time zone does Cairo use?
Eastern European Time (EET, UTC+2) in winter and Eastern European Summer Time (EEST, UTC+3) in summer, identified as Africa/Cairo.
Does Egypt observe daylight saving time?
Yes, since 2023, after a turbulent history of repeatedly adopting and abolishing it. Clocks currently move forward the last Friday in April and back the last Thursday in October.
Why has Egypt changed its daylight saving policy so many times?
Egypt introduced DST in 1940, dropped and restored it several times over the following decades, abolished it in 2011, briefly reinstated it in 2014 with a Ramadan exception, cancelled a planned 2016 return just days before it was due to start, and finally restored it again in 2023.
Is Egypt the only African country with daylight saving time?
As of the mid-2020s, yes — Egypt is currently the only African country observing daylight saving time.
What is the time difference between Cairo and Dubai?
Usually 2 hours, with Dubai ahead, narrowing to 1 hour while Cairo observes daylight saving time (Dubai has no DST of its own).
What is the time difference between Cairo and Johannesburg?
The same time in winter, since both use UTC+2, with Cairo one hour ahead during its daylight saving period — Johannesburg has never observed DST.
What are normal business hours in Cairo?
Most offices run roughly 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., commonly across a Sunday-to-Thursday workweek.
How do I convert Cairo time to my own time zone?
Use the time zone converter, selecting Cairo as the source zone and checking a specific date, since Cairo's DST dates don't match the EU's.
When do the clocks change in Cairo?
Clocks currently move forward one hour on the last Friday in April and back one hour on the last Thursday in October, though this schedule has changed multiple times in recent Egyptian history.
Planning a call across time zones? Try the meeting planner or see all cities on the world clock.
Time zone comparisons: Cairo vs London