Python: Get the GMT and local current time

Last update on April 22 2025 12:49:07 (UTC/GMT +8 hours)

29. GMT and Local Time

Write a Python program to get GMT and the local time.

Sample Solution:

Python Code:

# Import the gmtime and strftime functions from the time module
from time import gmtime, strftime
# Import the time module
import time

# Print the current time in GMT (Greenwich Mean Time) format
print("\nGMT: " + time.strftime("%a, %d %b %Y %I:%M:%S %p %Z", time.gmtime()))

# Print the current time in local time zone format
# The strftime function is used directly since it was imported earlier
print("Local: " + strftime("%a, %d %b %Y %I:%M:%S %p %Z\n"))

Output:

GMT: Mon, 08 May 2017 06:21:07 AM GMT                                                                         
Local: Mon, 08 May 2017 11:51:07 AM IST

Explanation:

In the exercise above,

The code imports the "gmtime" and "strftime" functions from the "time" module and the entire "time" module separately.
Print the current time in different time zones:

It prints the current time in GMT (Greenwich Mean Time) format using the "strftime()" function with the '%Z' directive to display the time zone.

"time.gmtime()" retrieves the current time in GMT.

It prints the current time in the local time zone format using the "strftime()" function.

Formatting Time Strings:

The "strftime()" function is used to format time strings according to the specified format directives, such as '%a' for abbreviated weekday name, '%d' for day of the month, '%b' for abbreviated month name, '%Y' for year, '%I' for hour (12-hour clock), '%M' for minute, '%S' for second, '%p' for AM/PM, and '%Z' for time zone name.

Finally the formatted time strings are printed to the console.

Flowchart:

For more Practice: Solve these Related Problems:

Write a Python program to display both the local time and GMT time in "HH:MM:SS" format and then calculate the time difference.
Write a Python script that retrieves the current local time and GMT time, then formats both with timezone labels.
Write a Python program to print the current local time and its corresponding GMT time and then compare their hour components.
Write a Python function to display local and GMT times and then output which one is ahead based on the timezone offset.

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