What is CAT?
CAT stands for Central Africa Time. Its offset from UTC is UTC+2, 2 hours ahead of UTC.
CAT is the time of central and southern Africa, two hours ahead of UTC. These countries do not use daylight saving.
South Africa uses the same clock time but calls it SAST.
Where CAT is used
Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Rwanda, Malawi and neighbours. The table shows examples, not every place. Entries in bold are on CAT at that moment.
| Place | Mid-January 2026 | Mid-July 2026 | Now |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maputo | CAT (UTC+2) | CAT (UTC+2) | CAT (UTC+2) |
| Harare | CAT (UTC+2) | CAT (UTC+2) | CAT (UTC+2) |
| Lusaka | CAT (UTC+2) | CAT (UTC+2) | CAT (UTC+2) |
| Gaborone | CAT (UTC+2) | CAT (UTC+2) | CAT (UTC+2) |
| Kigali | CAT (UTC+2) | CAT (UTC+2) | CAT (UTC+2) |
| Lubumbashi | CAT (UTC+2) | CAT (UTC+2) | CAT (UTC+2) |
| Blantyre | CAT (UTC+2) | CAT (UTC+2) | CAT (UTC+2) |
| Windhoek | CAT (UTC+2) | CAT (UTC+2) | CAT (UTC+2) |
| Khartoum | CAT (UTC+2) | CAT (UTC+2) | CAT (UTC+2) |
| Juba | CAT (UTC+2) | CAT (UTC+2) | CAT (UTC+2) |
Time difference between CAT and other cities
| City | Compared with CAT, now | Changes in the next 12 months |
|---|---|---|
| New York City | 7 hours behind | Sun 14 Mar 2027, 07:00 UTC: 6 hours behind |
| Los Angeles | 10 hours behind | Sun 14 Mar 2027, 10:00 UTC: 9 hours behind |
| London | 2 hours behind | Sun 28 Mar 2027, 01:00 UTC: 1 hour behind Sun 31 Oct 2027, 01:00 UTC: 2 hours behind |
| Dubai | 2 hours ahead | No change |
| Mumbai | 3 hours 30 minutes ahead | No change |
| Singapore | 6 hours ahead | No change |
| Tokyo | 7 hours ahead | No change |
| Sydney | 9 hours ahead | Sat 3 Apr 2027, 16:00 UTC: 8 hours ahead Sat 2 Oct 2027, 16:00 UTC: 9 hours ahead |
A gap changes when the two places change their clocks on different dates. Dates are in UTC.
Working hours that overlap with CAT
When it is 09:00 to 17:00 in CAT, where is it also a working day (09:00 to 17:00)? This uses today’s clock settings, so check the meeting planner for weeks when clocks change.
| City | Shared working hours |
|---|---|
| New York City | 16:00 to 17:00 in CAT (09:00 to 10:00 in New York City) |
| Los Angeles | No shared working hours |
| London | 11:00 to 17:00 in CAT (09:00 to 15:00 in London) |
| Dubai | 09:00 to 15:00 in CAT (11:00 to 17:00 in Dubai) |
| Mumbai | 09:00 to 13:30 in CAT (12:30 to 17:00 in Mumbai) |
| Singapore | 09:00 to 11:00 in CAT (15:00 to 17:00 in Singapore) |
| Tokyo | 09:00 to 10:00 in CAT (16:00 to 17:00 in Tokyo) |
| Sydney | No shared working hours |