Current Time in Asia/Nicosia Time Zone

Overview and Coverage

Asia/Nicosia applies exclusively to the island nation of Cyprus, a country in the eastern Mediterranean. The zone covers the entire island, including both the Republic of Cyprus (southern part) and the de facto Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (recognized only by Turkey). All of Cyprus uses the same clock, making Asia/Nicosia the sole IANA zone for the country.

Standard Offset and Abbreviation

During standard time, Asia/Nicosia is at UTC+02:00, known as Eastern European Time (EET). This offset places Cyprus two hours ahead of Coordinated Universal Time. EET is shared with many other zones: Africa/Blantyre, Africa/Bujumbura, Africa/Cairo, Africa/Gaborone, Africa/Harare, Africa/Johannesburg, Africa/Juba, Africa/Khartoum, Africa/Kigali, Africa/Lubumbashi, Africa/Lusaka, and Africa/Maputo. However, note that some of these African zones do not observe daylight saving, so their clocks diverge during summer.

Daylight Saving Time (DST) Behavior

Cyprus observes daylight saving time, advancing clocks to UTC+03:00, known as Eastern European Summer Time (EEST). DST begins on the last Sunday of March at 03:00 local time (clocks spring forward to 04:00) and ends on the last Sunday of October at 04:00 local time (clocks fall back to 03:00). This pattern aligns with the European Union's DST schedule.

Upcoming DST change dates:

• 2025-03-30: switch to EEST (UTC+03:00)
• 2025-10-26: switch to EET (UTC+02:00)
• 2026-03-29: switch to EEST (UTC+03:00)
• 2026-10-25: switch to EET (UTC+02:00)

The yearly rhythm is predictable: about seven months of EEST (late March to late October) and five months of EET (late October to late March).

Main Countries and Cities

The only country using Asia/Nicosia is Cyprus. The anchor city is Nicosia (Lefkosia), the capital and largest city. Other major cities include Limassol, Larnaca, Paphos, and Famagusta (in the north). All these cities share the same time.

Practical Guidance for Scheduling

Asia/Nicosia (EET/EEST) is in the Eastern European time zone family. During standard time (UTC+02:00), it is 1 hour ahead of Central European Time (CET, UTC+01:00) and 7 hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time (EST, UTC-05:00). During summer (EEST, UTC+03:00), it is 1 hour ahead of Central European Summer Time (CEST, UTC+02:00) and 7 hours ahead of Eastern Daylight Time (EDT, UTC-04:00).

For business hours overlap with London (UTC+00:00 winter, UTC+01:00 summer): Cyprus is 2 hours ahead in winter and 2 hours ahead in summer. For New York: Cyprus is 7 hours ahead in winter and 7 hours ahead in summer. For Dubai (UTC+04:00 year-round): Cyprus is 2 hours behind in winter and 1 hour behind in summer. For Johannesburg (UTC+02:00 year-round): Cyprus matches in winter and is 1 hour ahead in summer.

When scheduling calls, note that DST transitions in Cyprus occur on the same dates as most European countries, but may differ from North American transitions (second Sunday in March and first Sunday in November). Always check current offset when planning cross-time-zone meetings.