What timezone is Jaffna in?

Jaffna uses the IANA timezone Asia/Colombo. The UTC offset is always UTC+5:30 — this timezone does not observe daylight saving time.

Does Jaffna observe daylight saving time?

No. Jaffna does not observe daylight saving time. The UTC offset remains UTC+5:30 all year round.

What is the current UTC offset for Jaffna?

Jaffna is currently at UTC+5:30.

What is the time difference between Jaffna and New York?

Jaffna is currently 9 hours 30 minutes ahead of New York.

What is the time difference between Jaffna and London?

Jaffna is currently 4 hours 30 minutes ahead of London.

Jaffna, Sri Lanka · UTC+5:30

00:52:06

Friday, April 3, 2026

W14 ↑ 06:07 ↓ 18:21 No DST

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Jaffna is the largest city in northern Sri Lanka and the cultural capital of the Sri Lankan Tamil community. It runs on Sri Lanka Standard Time, UTC+5:30, year-round, the same as Colombo and all of Sri Lanka. No daylight saving.

Sri Lanka shares the UTC+5:30 offset with India, though the two countries use different IANA identifiers: Asia/Colombo for Sri Lanka, Asia/Kolkata for India. Sri Lanka briefly used UTC+6 from 1996 to 2006 before returning to UTC+5:30 to realign with India and reduce the disruption from the half-hour difference.

Jaffna and the Tamil calendar

The Tamil community uses the Tamil calendar alongside the Gregorian calendar. Tamil New Year, Puthandu, falls on April 14 or 15, aligned with the solar entry into Aries. This astronomical event, marking the sun’s position rather than any civil calculation, is one of the most important dates in the Tamil year.

The Tamil calendar months are also used for festival scheduling, agricultural cycles, and auspicious dates for ceremonies. This solar time system runs in parallel with UTC+5:30.

A city rebuilding after the civil war

Jaffna was heavily affected by the Sri Lankan Civil War, which ended in 2009. The city had been under rebel control for extended periods and suffered significant damage. Reconstruction has been substantial, and the city’s temples, colleges, and markets are again centers of activity.

Convert 9am Jaffna time to other cities.

Sources

IANA Time Zone Database
Department of Census and Statistics Sri Lanka
Peebles, Patrick. The History of Sri Lanka. Greenwood Press, 2006.

Same time as Jaffna

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Questions about time in Jaffna

What timezone is Jaffna in?: Jaffna uses the IANA timezone Asia/Colombo. The UTC offset is always UTC+5:30 — this timezone does not observe daylight saving time.
Does Jaffna observe daylight saving time?: No. Jaffna does not observe daylight saving time. The UTC offset remains UTC+5:30 all year round.
What is the current UTC offset for Jaffna?: Jaffna is currently at UTC+5:30.
What is the time difference between Jaffna and New York?: Jaffna is currently 9 hours 30 minutes ahead of New York.
What is the time difference between Jaffna and London?: Jaffna is currently 4 hours 30 minutes ahead of London.
What is the time difference between Jaffna and Los Angeles?: Jaffna is currently 12 hours 30 minutes ahead of Los Angeles.
What is the time difference between Jaffna and Tokyo?: Jaffna is currently 3 hours 30 minutes behind Tokyo.
What is the IANA timezone name for Jaffna?: The IANA timezone database identifier for Jaffna is Asia/Colombo. Use this string in programming languages and APIs: JavaScript (`new Intl.DateTimeFormat('en-US', { timeZone: 'Asia/Colombo' })`), Python (`pytz.timezone('Asia/Colombo')`), or any IANA-compatible library.

Jaffna, Sri Lanka · UTC+5:30 ☆