Port-aux-Français, French Southern Territories · UTC+5
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Port-aux-Français is in the Indian/Kerguelen timezone (UTC+5), observed year-round at this French research station on one of the world’s most remote inhabited islands.
Kerguelen Island sits in the Southern Ocean, roughly equidistant between Antarctica, southern Africa, and southern Australia. There are no scheduled commercial flights. Ships arrive several times a year. Port-aux-Français, the French research station at the island’s main harbor, is home to between 50 and 120 scientists and support staff, depending on season.
The French Southern Territories use UTC+5 for Kerguelen, a practical choice rather than a geographic one. The island sits at roughly 69 degrees east longitude, which would suggest UTC+4:36 by strict solar calculation. The UTC+5 offset keeps the station’s time reasonably close to local solar time while using a round number.
At 49 degrees south latitude, Kerguelen’s daylight variation is significant. December brings nearly 17 hours of daylight. June brings fewer than 8. The Southern Ocean context means that this daylight comes with wind: Kerguelen averages 150 days of gale-force winds per year. The island was named “Desolation Island” by early English sailors, and the name fits.
isolation, ecology, and remote science
Cats brought to the island as pets in the 19th century went feral and devastated the local rabbit population (which were also introduced). Eradication programs have been ongoing. The island runs on a specific kind of ecological time as well as UTC+5.
9am at Port-aux-Français is 4am in London.
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Questions about time in Port-aux-Français
- What timezone is Port-aux-Français in?
- Port-aux-Français uses the IANA timezone
Indian/Kerguelen. The UTC offset is always UTC+5 — this timezone does not observe daylight saving time. - Does Port-aux-Français observe daylight saving time?
- No. Port-aux-Français does not observe daylight saving time. The UTC offset remains UTC+5 all year round.
- What is the current UTC offset for Port-aux-Français?
- Port-aux-Français is currently at UTC+5.
- What is the time difference between Port-aux-Français and New York?
- Port-aux-Français is currently 9 hours ahead of New York.
- What is the time difference between Port-aux-Français and London?
- Port-aux-Français is currently 4 hours ahead of London.
- What is the time difference between Port-aux-Français and Los Angeles?
- Port-aux-Français is currently 12 hours ahead of Los Angeles.
- What is the time difference between Port-aux-Français and Tokyo?
- Port-aux-Français is currently 4 hours behind Tokyo.
- What is the IANA timezone name for Port-aux-Français?
- The IANA timezone database identifier for Port-aux-Français is
Indian/Kerguelen. Use this string in programming languages and APIs: JavaScript (`new Intl.DateTimeFormat('en-US', { timeZone: 'Indian/Kerguelen' })`), Python (`pytz.timezone('Indian/Kerguelen')`), or any IANA-compatible library.