Days in Philadelphia are currently getting shorter, about 18 minutes shorter than a week ago.*
* Calculated from sunrise and sunset times; actual visible daylight can vary slightly with weather, elevation and atmospheric conditions.
Geographic position of Philadelphia
Philadelphia is located in the Northern Hemisphere and the Western Hemisphere. Its coordinates are 39.9524° N, 75.1636° W.
-
Distance from the Equator:
about 4,447 km (2,763 mi)
-
Distance from the North Pole:
about 5,571 km (3,462 mi)
-
Distance from the South Pole:
about 14,466 km (8,989 mi)
-
Distance from the Prime Meridian:
about 6,414 km (3,985 mi) west
Philadelphia lies in the temperate latitude zone. This latitude affects daylight length, seasonal variation and how local solar time compares with standard clock time.
Antipode of Philadelphia
The point on Earth exactly opposite Philadelphia is near Perth - when it's noon in Philadelphia, it's close to midnight there.
Golden Hour & Blue Hour in Philadelphia
Approximate times based on sunrise/sunset. Actual golden hour quality varies with weather and season.
Current Season in Philadelphia
Philadelphia is currently in Autumn. Winter begins around December 21, which is 68 days from now.
Because Philadelphia is in the Northern Hemisphere, its seasons run opposite to cities in the other hemisphere. When it is autumn here, places on the other side of the equator are experiencing the opposite season at the same time.
Longest & Shortest Day in Philadelphia
In Philadelphia, the longest day of the year falls around June 21 and lasts about 15h 0m. The shortest day falls around December 21 and lasts about 9h 20m, a difference of roughly 5h 40m between the two.
This seasonal swing depends on Philadelphia's latitude: cities closer to the equator see little variation in daylight throughout the year, while cities farther from it, like Philadelphia at 39.95° N, experience a much wider gap between summer and winter daylight.
Population Ranking of Philadelphia
With a population of 1,573,916, Philadelphia ranks as the 8th most populous city in United States, out of 3,397 cities tracked on this site.
Airport in Philadelphia
Philadelphia International Airport (PHL / KPHL) is a major international airport serving Philadelphia directly.
Current local time at the airport is 00:20:08.
Daylight saving time changes in Philadelphia
Philadelphia uses the IANA time zone identifier America/New_York. The current local offset is UTC-4 / EDT.
2026
Previous change: Daylight saving time started
- The offset changed from UTC-5 / EST to UTC-4 / EDT.
- The clock was moved forward from 02:00 to 03:00 local time.
2026
Next change: Standard time starts
- The offset will change from UTC-4 / EDT to UTC-5 / EST.
- The clock will be moved back from 02:00 to 01:00 local time.
Best Time to Call Philadelphia
Business hours in Philadelphia (9 AM-5 PM local time) fall at these local times elsewhere:
- Los Angeles: 6:00 AM - 2:00 PM ( Partial overlap)
- London: 2:00 PM - 10:00 PM ( Partial overlap)
- Dubai: 5:00 PM - 1:00 AM (next day) ( Partial overlap)
- Mumbai: 6:30 PM - 2:30 AM (next day) ( Partial overlap)
- Tokyo: 10:00 PM - 6:00 AM (next day) ( Outside normal hours)
- Sydney: 12:00 AM (next day) - 8:00 AM (next day) ( Outside normal hours)
Times shown reflect current UTC offsets and may shift by up to an hour around daylight saving transitions.
Time Difference from Philadelphia
Compare time in Philadelphia with major cities worldwide.
Time now in other cities in United States
Public Holidays Affecting Philadelphia
Official national holiday observed in United States.
Frequently Asked Questions
What time zone is Philadelphia in?
Philadelphia follows the America/New_York time zone, the official IANA identifier used by computers and databases worldwide to track local time accurately. Right now, this puts Philadelphia at UTC-4.
What time is it in Philadelphia right now?
The current local time in Philadelphia is 00:20:08 on Tuesday, 13 October 2026. This page updates automatically, so refreshing it will always show the live time.
Does Philadelphia observe daylight saving time?
Yes. Philadelphia is currently observing daylight saving time, which temporarily shifts the clock forward by one hour compared to standard time.
How far ahead or behind UTC is Philadelphia?
Philadelphia is currently UTC-4, meaning local time is 4 hours behind Coordinated Universal Time (UTC).
What is the nearest airport to Philadelphia?
Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) is the airport serving Philadelphia. The current local time at the airport is 00:20:08.
Beyond the Clock
Why Election Day Is the Tuesday After the First Monday in November
The next federal Election Day in the United States is Tuesday, November 3, 2026. The date comes from a short formula in federal law, "the Tuesday next after the first Monday in November," written in 1845 and never rewritten since. It confines every federal general
Friday the 13th: How Often It Happens and Why It Falls on a Friday Most Often
November 13, 2026 is the third Friday the 13th of the year, after February 13 and March 13. That won't happen again until 2037. The next one after November comes on August 13, 2027, and then the calendar produces the longest possible drought: 14 months
When Is Eid al-Fitr and How Its Date Depends on Ramadan’s Final Moon Sighting
Eid al-Fitr never sits on a fixed date, and it isn't confirmed until the night before it happens. Unlike Christmas or New Year's Day, locked to the Gregorian calendar months in advance, the first day of Shawwal depends on whether a sliver of crescent moon
When Is Yom Kippur and Why It Always Falls 10 Days After Rosh Hashanah
Yom Kippur is the tenth day of Tishrei, and Rosh Hashanah is the first, so the ten-day gap between them looks like simple arithmetic. It isn't. The Hebrew calendar has a set of centuries-old rules that quietly forbid Rosh Hashanah from landing on three specific
Why the Moon’s Phases Don’t Actually Change Its Size
A thin crescent looks small enough to disappear. A full moon looks like it's swelling on the horizon. Neither impression is true. The Moon's diameter is 3,474 kilometers on every night of the month, whether it's a sliver or a full disc, and nothing in
Why Saturn’s Rings Are Disappearing From View in 2025 and 2026
Saturn's rings turned edge-on to Earth on March 23, 2025, at 12:04 p.m. EDT, and for weeks the planet looked like a plain yellow ball through backyard telescopes. This is not decay or destruction. It is a geometric alignment called a ring plane crossing, and
What Is a Harvest Moon and Why It Rises at Almost the Same Time Several Nights Running
On most nights of the year, the Moon rises roughly 50 minutes later than it did the night before. Around the Harvest Moon, that gap collapses to as little as 10 minutes in parts of the UK and Canada, and rarely more than 30 minutes
What Is a Blood Moon and Why Does the Moon Turn Red
On the night of August 27, 2026, the Moon came within a hair of disappearing entirely. Earth's shadow covered 96.2% of its surface, a partial eclipse so deep that skywatchers across the Americas, Europe, and Africa watched it turn a rusty, almost total red without
Time Tools
Quick access to timers, stopwatch, world clock and time zone tools.
Time Guides
Read useful guides about time zones, calendars, finance and astronomy.
