CLT — Chile Standard Time
CLT is Chile Standard Time, -04:00, used in South America. In code, use America/Santiago rather than the abbreviation.
Chile Standard Time · South America
20:15:42
Wednesday, 12 August 2026
- abbreviation denotes
- -04:00
- in force right now
- UTC-04:00 (UTC-04:00)
- use in code
- America/Santiago
- next clock change
- 6 Sep 2026 01:00 → UTC-03:00
Right now this zone is on UTC-04:00, not CLT —
they are the same place at different times of year.
Use the IANA name, not the abbreviation
Python
from datetime import datetime
from zoneinfo import ZoneInfo
# right: an IANA zone carries the full history of rule changes
now = datetime.now(ZoneInfo("America/Santiago"))
print(now.isoformat(), now.tzname())
# wrong: an abbreviation is not resolvable, and a hard-coded offset
# silently rots the next time the rules change
# now = datetime.now(timezone(timedelta(hours=...))) # don'tCLT questions
What does CLT stand for?
CLT is Chile Standard Time, -04:00, used in South America. The IANA zone to use in code is America/Santiago.
What time is it in CLT right now?
Chile Standard Time: 20:15 on Wednesday (UTC-04:00).
Which IANA timezone should I use instead of CLT?
America/Santiago for Chile Standard Time. Date libraries cannot resolve bare abbreviations, and an abbreviation carries no daylight-saving history, so a stored offset silently rots when a government changes the rules.
Why does my computer show UTC-04:00 instead of CLT?
Because America/Santiago is currently on UTC-04:00 (UTC-04:00), its daylight-saving variant. CLT (-04:00) applies during the other half of the year. Both names refer to the same place, one hour apart.