Time in Chennai, India 🇮🇳
The current local time in Chennai, India is shown below — the city is in the Asia/Kolkata time zone (UTC +05:30 · IST).
Chennai local time
Sunday, 11 October 2026 IST
Chennai at a glance
- Time zone
Asia/Kolkata· India Standard Time- UTC offset now
- +05:30 IST
- Daylight saving
- No · UTC +05:30 all year
- Coordinates
- 13.08° N, 80.27° E
- Population
- 10,971,000
- Country
- India · ISO IN
- Dialing code
- +91
- Currency
- Indian Rupee (INR)
- Work week
- Monday to Friday
- Drives on the
- Left
Chennai right now
Time difference
Chennai is shown here relative to your device's time zone.
Planning a call? Compare hours side by side in the time zone converter.
Next public holiday
Republic Day
Mon, Jan 26, 2026 · all India holidays →
Sun today
Sunrise 05:59 · Sunset 17:53
Day length 11h 54m · twilight and monthly table →
Chennai vs. major cities
How far Chennai is from the world's main business centres right now, what time it is there when the working day starts in Chennai, and which hours of a 09:00–17:00 day the two places share. Daylight saving changes are applied automatically.
| City | Difference | At 09:00 in Chennai | Shared office hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York · United States | −9:30 h | 23:30 (prev. day) | None |
| Los Angeles · United States | −12:30 h | 20:30 (prev. day) | None |
| São Paulo · Brazil | −8:30 h | 00:30 | None |
| London · United Kingdom | −4:30 h | 04:30 | 13:30–17:00 |
| Paris · France | −3:30 h | 05:30 | 12:30–17:00 |
| Johannesburg · South Africa | −3:30 h | 05:30 | 12:30–17:00 |
| Dubai · United Arab Emirates | −1:30 h | 07:30 | 10:30–17:00 |
| Singapore · Singapore | +2:30 h | 11:30 | 09:00–14:30 |
| Beijing · China | +2:30 h | 11:30 | 09:00–14:30 |
| Tokyo · Japan | +3:30 h | 12:30 | 09:00–13:30 |
Shared office hours are shown in Chennai time. Compare any set of cities hour by hour in the time zone converter, or pick a slot that suits everyone with the event planner.
Clock changes in Chennai
Chennai has kept the same UTC +05:30 offset without daylight saving time since at least 1970.
No clock changes are scheduled in 2026 or 2027: Chennai stays on UTC +05:30 all year.
Source: IANA tz database, as shipped with the Unicode ICU library.
Daylight in Chennai through the year
The longest day in Chennai is 22 June with 12h 54m of daylight; the shortest is 22 December with 11h 21m. Day length swings by 1 h 33 min over the year. The earliest sunrise is at 05:42 on 29 May and the latest sunset at 18:40 on 29 June — not on the solstice itself, because solar noon drifts through the year.
Frequently asked questions
What time zone is Chennai in?
Chennai uses the Asia/Kolkata time zone (IST): UTC +05:30 all year round.
Does Chennai observe daylight saving time?
No. Chennai has not used daylight saving time since at least 1970.
When is the longest day of the year in Chennai?
Around 22 June, with 12h 54m of daylight. The shortest day is around 22 December, with 11h 21m.
What is the dialing code for Chennai?
To call Chennai from abroad, dial your international access code, then India's country code +91, then the local number without its leading trunk prefix.
What are normal working days in Chennai?
The standard work week in India runs Monday to Friday, with the weekend on Saturday and Sunday. Keep this in mind when scheduling calls from countries with a different weekend.
Explore more for Chennai
Everything else we track for Chennai: daylight, weather, the country overview, and the exact time-zone references.