eduPASS | Cultural Differences | Time and Temperature

Time and Temperature

Temperatures are most often reported in Fahrenheit, and occasionally also in Celsius. To convert Fahrenheit to Celsius, subtract 32 and multiply the result by 5/9. The following table lists a few common temperatures:

°F	°C	Description
212	100	boiling point of water
98.6	37	normal body temperature
86	30	very hot summer day
72	22	room temperature
68	20	mild spring day
50	10	warm winter day
32	0	freezing point of water
20	-7	very cold winter day

Climate varies considerably across the United States. You will probably need an umbrella, even in Las Vegas or Los Angeles. In the northern cities, such as Boston, Chicago, Pittsburgh, New York, Seattle, Washington, Denver, and Minneapolis you will need cold weather and snow gear. In the southern states, such as California and Florida, summers may be very hot and the winters mild. Depending on the part of the country, temperatures during the summer will run from the 70s through the 90s.

No matter where you are in the US, you will probably need a sweater or jacket for part of the year. If you will be living in an area that gets snow, you will need a good winter coat, boots, and gloves. If the coat does not include a hood, you will need a hat that covers your ears. But all this can wait until after you arrive in the US. Clothing is relatively inexpensive in the US, and it may be easier to find appropriate clothing at your destination. Wait until you arrive, and watch what the natives wear.

The United States has four main time zones: Pacific Standard Time (PST), Mountain Standard Time (MST), Central Standard Time (CST), and Eastern Standard Time (EST). When it is 9:00 am in California (PST) it is 10:00 am in Denver (MST), 11:00 am in Chicago (CST), and 12:00 noon in New York (EST). Alaska is one hour earlier than California, and Hawaii is two hours earlier. Puerto Rico is in the Atlantic Standard Time zone, one hour after New York. Guam is fourteen hours after New York. If you are on the east coast of the US and calling someone on the west coast, they are probably still asleep at 9:00 am your time. If you are on the west coast and calling someone on the east coast, they are probably eating dinner at 4:00 pm your time.

The following table lists the states that occur in each time zone. States that span two time zones are italicized.

Time Zone	States
Eastern	Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia
Central	Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Wisconsin
Mountain	Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Wyoming
Pacific	California, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Washington

The following table lists the number of hours ahead or behind Eastern Standard Time for cities around the world. Add the number to Eastern Standard Time to arrive at the time in the named city, or subtract it from the time in the named city to obtain Eastern Standard Time.

City	Time Delta	City	Time Delta	City	Time Delta
Addis Ababa	+8	Alexandria	+7	Amsterdam	+6
Athens	+7	Baghdad	+8	Bangkok	+0
Barcelona	+5	Beijing	-11	Belfast	+5
Belgrade	+6	Berlin	+6	Bogotá	+0
Bombay	+10:30	Brasília	+2	Brussels	+6
Bucharest	+7	Budapest	+6	Buenos Aires	+2
Cairo	+7	Calcutta	+10:30	Calgary	-2
Cape Town	+7	Caracas	+1	Casablanca	+5
Copenhagen	+6	Delhi	+10:30	Dublin	+5
Edinburgh	+5	Florence	+6	Frankfurt	+6
Geneva	+6	Glasgow	+5	Halifax	+1
Hanoi	+13	Havana	+0	Helsinki	+7
Ho Chi Minh City	+13	Hong Kong	+13	Istanbul	+7
Jakarta	+0	Jerusalem	+7	Johannesburg	+7
Karachi	+10	Kuala Lumpur	+13	Lima	+0
Lisbon	+5	Liverpool	+4	Madrid	+5
Managua	-1	Manila	+13	Marseilles	+6
Mecca	+8	Melbourne	+16	Mexico City	-1
Montreal	+0	Moscow	+8	Munich	+6
Naples	+6	Oslo	+6	Ottawa	+0
Panama	+0	Paris	+6	Prague	+6
Quebec	+0	Rio de Janeiro	+2	Riyadh	+8
Rome	+6	St. Petersburg	+8	San Juan	+1
Santiago	+1	Seoul	+14	Shanghai	+13
Stockholm	+6	Sydney	+16	Tangiers	+5
Teheran	+8:30	Tel Aviv	+7	Tokyo	-10
Toronto	+0	Tripoli	+7	Vancouver	-3
Venice	+6	Vienna	+6	Vladivostok	+15
Warsaw	+6	Winnipeg	-1	Yokohama	+14
Zurich	+6

During Daylight Savings Time clocks are set forward one hour. It begins on the first Sunday in April and ends on the last Sunday in October. The mnemonic "Spring Forward, Fall Back" will help you remember how to set your clocks. Not every state conforms to Daylight Savings Time; for example, Indiana and Guam never change their clocks.