Python: Set the default timezone used by all date/time functions

Last update on March 31 2025 12:53:31 (UTC/GMT +8 hours)

54. Set Default Timezone

Write a Python program to set the default timezone used by all date/time functions.

Sample Solution:

Python Code:

# Import the os and time modules
import os, time

# Print the current time in the default timezone before the timezone change
print(time.strftime('%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S')) # before timezone change

# Set the new timezone to 'America/Los_Angeles'
os.environ['TZ'] = 'America/Los_Angeles'

# Apply the timezone change
time.tzset()

# Print the current time in the new timezone after the timezone change
print(time.strftime('%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S')) # after timezone change

Output:

2020-07-21 13:09:47
2020-07-21 06:09:47

Explanation:

In the exercise above,

• The code imports the "os" and "time" modules. time.
• It prints the current time in the default timezone using "time.strftime('%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S')". This function formats the time according to the given format string, which represents the year, month, day, hour, minute, and second.
• It sets the new timezone to 'America/Los_Angeles' by updating the 'TZ' environment variable in the "os.environ" dictionary.
• It applies the timezone change using "time.tzset()", which refreshes the timezone settings.
• It prints the current time in the new timezone after the timezone change using the same "time.strftime('%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S')" function.

Flowchart:

For more Practice: Solve these Related Problems:

• Write a Python program to set the default timezone for all datetime operations to a specified timezone and then display the current time in that timezone.
• Write a Python script to configure the default timezone in your application and then convert a local datetime to that timezone.
• Write a Python function to change the system’s default timezone temporarily and then print the current time in the new timezone.
• Write a Python program to set and reset the default timezone using the pytz module and then demonstrate the effect on datetime outputs.

Python Code Editor:

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