London is 4 hours behind Karachi for most of the year: when it is 10:00 am in Karachi it is 6:00 am in London. In offset terms Karachi is on UTC+05:00 and London is on UTC+00:00 in January, and UTC+05:00 and UTC+01:00 in July. The converter above works from your browser’s own time zone data, so the figure it shows is the one in force today rather than the one that was in force when this page was written.
The difference is not constant, because only one of the two cities observes daylight saving. In 2026, Karachi does not change at all and London changes on 29 March and 25 October. That leaves 3 distinct periods in the year, and the table below gives the exact dates. It is the short windows that catch people out: a recurring call booked in one city’s clock silently moves in the other’s.
For arranging anything, the number that matters is the overlap. Karachi works 09:00 to 17:00 and London works 09:00 to 17:30, which leaves 13:00 to 17:00 in Karachi — 09:00 to 13:00 in London — as the window when both are open. That is 4 hours of shared working time. Both cities work Monday to Friday, so only the clock has to be reconciled.
Two local details worth knowing. Pakistan keeps UTC+05:00 all year, half an hour behind India, which is the usual source of confusion on regional calls. The City works 09:00 to 17:30, and the 08:00 market open means email is answered well before the official start.
The safest way to write a time for these two cities is to give both, as in "10:00 Karachi / 06:00 London", or to give the UTC offset. Abbreviations are the trap: Karachi is on PKT for part of the year and PKT for the rest, and the same three letters are reused in other parts of the world for entirely different offsets.
The formula
local Karachi- The time you enter, on the Karachi clock
offset- Each city’s UTC offset at that moment, read live from the IANA time zone database in your browser
−4- The difference in hours that holds for most of 2026: London is 4 hours behind Karachi
day shift- Whether the converted time falls on the previous, same or next calendar day in London
How it works, step by step
- Enter a time in Karachi using the 24-hour hour box and the minute box — 15:30 is hour 15, minute 30.
- Your browser reports the UTC offset in force in Karachi and in London for that moment, so a date near a daylight saving transition is handled correctly rather than with a fixed 4 hour rule.
- The second offset minus the first gives the difference, which is added to the time you entered. A result past midnight is marked as the next or previous day, because that is where most conversion mistakes live.
- The panel also shows the current time in both cities, the date in London, and whether the two offices are open at the same moment.
Worked examples
09:00 in Karachi
09:00 in Karachi is 05:00 in London — the middle of the night in London. In 12-hour terms, 9:00 am against 5:00 am. Only one of the two offices is open at that moment, so it is worth offering rather than assuming.
12:00 in Karachi
12:00 in Karachi is 08:00 in London — before the working day starts in London. In 12-hour terms, 12:00 pm against 8:00 am. Only one of the two offices is open at that moment, so it is worth offering rather than assuming.
16:00 in Karachi
16:00 in Karachi is 12:00 in London — inside London office hours. In 12-hour terms, 4:00 pm against 12:00 pm. Both offices are open at that moment, so it is a slot either side can accept.
The 1 January window, when the usual answer is wrong
Between 1 January and 28 March the difference is -05:00 rather than -04:00, because one city has changed its clocks and the other has not. In that window 10:00 in Karachi is 05:00 in London, an hour away from where a fixed-offset table would put it.
How to read your score
Frequently asked questions
How many hours behind Karachi is London?
London is 4 hours behind Karachi for most of 2026, so 09:00 in Karachi is 05:00 in London. The difference changes during the daylight saving changeovers, and the table on this page lists every period in the year with its exact dates.
What is 2 pm Karachi time in London?
10:00 am, inside London office hours. In 24-hour form 14:00 in Karachi is 10:00 in London, and that is a normal working moment in both cities.
What is the best time to call between Karachi and London?
Anywhere between 13:00 and 17:00 Karachi time, which is 09:00 to 13:00 in London. Both offices are open across that whole window — 4 hours of it. If you want one answer rather than a range, 15:00 in Karachi is the middle of the overlap.
Is London ahead of or behind Karachi?
London is behind. Karachi is at UTC+05:00 and London is at UTC+00:00 in mid-January, and UTC+05:00 and UTC+01:00 in mid-July. The clock moves back going from Karachi to London, which is why Karachi reaches the end of its working day first.
Do Karachi and London change their clocks on the same date?
No. In 2026, Karachi does not change its clocks at all, and London changes on 29 March 2026 and 25 October 2026. That is why the difference between them takes 2 different values across the year rather than one.
What do the abbreviations for Karachi mean?
Karachi is on PKT in winter and PKT in summer, while London uses GMT and BST. Abbreviations are the least reliable way to write a time: several are ambiguous between regions, and the summer and winter forms are an hour apart. A UTC offset, or the time given in both cities, cannot be misread.
Does this converter stay correct after the clocks change?
Yes. It does not use a stored number for the difference. Each time you change a value it asks your browser for the UTC offset that Asia/Karachi and Europe/London are on at that moment, using the IANA time zone database that ships with your operating system, and takes the difference. The tables on this page are computed from the same database for 2026.
Karachi to London: every hour, every period of 2026, and meeting slots
| Karachi (24h) | Karachi (12h) | London (24h) | London (12h) | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 00:00 | 12:00 am | 20:00 (previous day) | 8:00 pm (previous day) | outside office hours |
| 01:00 | 1:00 am | 21:00 (previous day) | 9:00 pm (previous day) | outside office hours |
| 02:00 | 2:00 am | 22:00 (previous day) | 10:00 pm (previous day) | outside office hours |
| 03:00 | 3:00 am | 23:00 (previous day) | 11:00 pm (previous day) | outside office hours |
| 04:00 | 4:00 am | 00:00 | 12:00 am | outside office hours |
| 05:00 | 5:00 am | 01:00 | 1:00 am | outside office hours |
| 06:00 | 6:00 am | 02:00 | 2:00 am | outside office hours |
| 07:00 | 7:00 am | 03:00 | 3:00 am | outside office hours |
| 08:00 | 8:00 am | 04:00 | 4:00 am | outside office hours |
| 09:00 | 9:00 am | 05:00 | 5:00 am | office hours in Karachi |
| 10:00 | 10:00 am | 06:00 | 6:00 am | office hours in Karachi |
| 11:00 | 11:00 am | 07:00 | 7:00 am | office hours in Karachi |
| 12:00 | 12:00 pm | 08:00 | 8:00 am | office hours in Karachi |
| 13:00 | 1:00 pm | 09:00 | 9:00 am | office hours in both |
| 14:00 | 2:00 pm | 10:00 | 10:00 am | office hours in both |
| 15:00 | 3:00 pm | 11:00 | 11:00 am | office hours in both |
| 16:00 | 4:00 pm | 12:00 | 12:00 pm | office hours in both |
| 17:00 | 5:00 pm | 13:00 | 1:00 pm | office hours in London |
| 18:00 | 6:00 pm | 14:00 | 2:00 pm | office hours in London |
| 19:00 | 7:00 pm | 15:00 | 3:00 pm | office hours in London |
| 20:00 | 8:00 pm | 16:00 | 4:00 pm | office hours in London |
| 21:00 | 9:00 pm | 17:00 | 5:00 pm | office hours in London |
| 22:00 | 10:00 pm | 18:00 | 6:00 pm | outside office hours |
| 23:00 | 11:00 pm | 19:00 | 7:00 pm | outside office hours |
Computed at a difference of -4 hours, which is the one that holds for most of 2026. During the transition windows in the table below, shift the right-hand columns by an hour.
| Period | Length | Karachi offset | London offset | Difference | Abbreviations |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 Jan to 28 Mar | 87 days | UTC+05:00 | UTC+00:00 | -5:00 | PKT / GMT |
| 29 Mar to 24 Oct | 210 days | UTC+05:00 | UTC+01:00 | -4:00 | PKT / BST |
| 25 Oct to 31 Dec | 68 days | UTC+05:00 | UTC+00:00 | -5:00 | PKT / GMT |
Every row is read from the IANA time zone database. Short periods appear where one city has changed its clocks and the other has not yet done so.
| Karachi | 12-hour | London | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| 06:00 | 6:00 am | 02:00 | Outside both |
| 06:30 | 6:30 am | 02:30 | Outside both |
| 07:00 | 7:00 am | 03:00 | Outside both |
| 07:30 | 7:30 am | 03:30 | Outside both |
| 08:00 | 8:00 am | 04:00 | Outside both |
| 08:30 | 8:30 am | 04:30 | Outside both |
| 09:00 | 9:00 am | 05:00 | Too early in London |
| 09:30 | 9:30 am | 05:30 | Too early in London |
| 10:00 | 10:00 am | 06:00 | Too early in London |
| 10:30 | 10:30 am | 06:30 | Too early in London |
| 11:00 | 11:00 am | 07:00 | Too early in London |
| 11:30 | 11:30 am | 07:30 | Too early in London |
| 12:00 | 12:00 pm | 08:00 | Too early in London |
| 12:30 | 12:30 pm | 08:30 | Too early in London |
| 13:00 | 1:00 pm | 09:00 | Good — both offices open |
| 13:30 | 1:30 pm | 09:30 | Good — both offices open |
| 14:00 | 2:00 pm | 10:00 | Good — both offices open |
| 14:30 | 2:30 pm | 10:30 | Good — both offices open |
| 15:00 | 3:00 pm | 11:00 | Good — both offices open |
| 15:30 | 3:30 pm | 11:30 | Good — both offices open |
| 16:00 | 4:00 pm | 12:00 | Good — both offices open |
| 16:30 | 4:30 pm | 12:30 | Good — both offices open |
| 17:00 | 5:00 pm | 13:00 | After hours in Karachi |
| 17:30 | 5:30 pm | 13:30 | After hours in Karachi |
| 18:00 | 6:00 pm | 14:00 | After hours in Karachi |
| 18:30 | 6:30 pm | 14:30 | After hours in Karachi |
| 19:00 | 7:00 pm | 15:00 | After hours in Karachi |
| 19:30 | 7:30 pm | 15:30 | After hours in Karachi |
| 20:00 | 8:00 pm | 16:00 | After hours in Karachi |
| 20:30 | 8:30 pm | 16:30 | After hours in Karachi |
| 21:00 | 9:00 pm | 17:00 | After hours in Karachi |
| 21:30 | 9:30 pm | 17:30 | Outside both |
Office hours taken as 09:00–17:00 in Karachi and 09:00–17:30 in London, which are the customary hours in each city rather than a generic nine to five.