Different countries follow a different time zone because the earth performs rotational motion. There can’t be the same time in all the countries of the world because when the earth performs rotational motion, some part of the earth experiences daytime and some part of the earth experiences nighttime. The time zones followed by different countries are different, and they have their independent properties. Two of the time zones that we are going to know about in this article are 1. PDT or the Pacific Time Zone 2. MDT or the Mountain Daylight Time.
PDT vs MDT
The main difference between PDT or the Pacific Time Zone and MDT or the Mountain Daylight Time is their time. The Mountain Daylight Time (MDT) is one hour forth of the Pacific Time Zone (PDT). The countries or states that follow them are also different from each other. For instance, The Mountain Daylight Zone is followed by states like Colorado, Utah. On the contrary, The Pacific Time Zone is followed by countries such as Western Canada, Western Mexico.
The Pacific Time Zone is the time zone that is seven hours behind the Coordinated Universal Time. It is followed by the Western USA, Western Canada, and Western Mexico. Observation of the Pacific Time Zone varies from the time of the year. For instance, it is known as the Pacific Standard Time (PST) when it is observed from early November to mid-March. On the contrary, it is known as the Pacific Daylight Time (PDT) when it is observed from mid-March to early November.
The Mountain Daylight Time (MDT) is the time zone that is one hour past the Pacific Time Zone and is six hours behind the Coordinated Universal Time. It is followed by several locations in the United States of America such as Montana, Utah, Nevada, Oregon. It is known by different names in different parts of the USA, Canada, and Mexico. For example, it is known as Mountain Time in the USA and Canada. On the contrary, it is known as the Mountain Standard Time (MST) while observing standard time.
Comparison Table Between PDT and MDT
| Parameters of Comparison | PDT | MDT |
| Full Forms | The Pacific Time Zone | The Mountain Daylight Time |
| Definition | The time zone, which is seven hours behind the Coordinated Universal Time and is one hour behind the Mountain Daylight Time, is called the Pacific Time Zone (PDT). | The time zone, which is six hours behind the Coordinated Universal Time and is one hour ahead of the Pacific Time Zone, is called the Mountain Daylight Zone (MDT). |
| Also known as | Pacific Standard Time (PST), Pacific Daylight Time (PDT) | Mountain Time (MT), Mountain Standard Time (MST) |
| Behind/ahead of The Coordinated Universal Time | Seven hours behind the Coordinated Universal Time | Six hours behind the Coordinated Universal Time |
| Largest location | Los Angeles, California, USA | Phoenix, Arizona, USA |
What is PDT?
The time zone, which is seven hours behind the Coordinated Universal Time and is one hour behind the Mountain Daylight Time, is called the Pacific Time Zone (PDT). The formula used to calculate the standard time in the locations that follow the Pacific Time Zone is UTC-7:00. Different terms are used to refer to the Pacific time zone, which varies from month to month. For instance, it is known as the Pacific Standard Time (PST) when it is observed from early November to mid-March. On the contrary, it is known as the Pacific Daylight Time (PDT) when it is observed from mid-March to early November.
The Pacific Time Zone varies from the time zones of other regions. Meaning that it is behind few hours in some regions, or it is ahead a few hours in some regions. For instance, it is one hour behind the Mountain Daylight Time. On the other hand, it is one hour ahead of Alaska Time Zone. Different locations in the United States of America follow different time zones.
Even some US possessions follow the time zones, which are followed by the locations in the USA. The main three countries that observe the Pacific Time Zone are the Western USA, Western Canada, and Western Mexico. As the Navajo Nation of Arizona follows the Mountain Time Zone, the rest of the state of Arizona follows the Pacific Time Zone from mid-March to early November.
The countries that follow the Pacific Time Zone (PDT) changes their time zones from the Pacific Standard Time (PST) to the Pacific Daylight Time (PDT) at a certain time of the year. The territories that follow the Pacific Time Zone in the USA change their time on the second Sunday in March from The Pacific Standard Time (PST) to The Pacific Daylight Time (PDT), which was initiated in the year 2007. In Canada, the regions that follow the Pacific Time Zone change their time from PST to PDT as well, which first took place between October 2005 to February 2007.
What is MDT?
The time zone, which is six hours behind the Coordinated Universal Time and is one hour ahead of the Pacific Time Zone, is called the Mountain Daylight Zone (MDT). The formula used to calculate the standard time in the locations that follow the Mountain Daylight Time is UTC-6:00. Different terms are used to refer to the Mountain Time Zone (MDT), which varies from country to country.
For instance, it is called Mountain Time (MT) in the USA and Canada. On the contrary, it is called Tiempo de la montaña in Mexico. While the observation of the standard time in the locations that follow the Mountain Daylight Time (MDT), it is called the Mountain Standard Time (MST).
The Mountain Daylight Time (MDT) is behind a few hours of some regions or ahead a few hours of some regions’ time zones. The difference varies between the Mountain Daylight Time and other region’s time zone. For instance, it is one hour ahead of the Pacific Time Zone (PDT), and it is two hours ahead of the Alaska Time Zone. The largest location that follows the Mountain Daylight Time is Pheonix, Arizona, USA. The rest of the last of tr state of Arizona follows the Pacific Time Zone (PDT).
The countries that follow the Mountain Daylight Time (MDT) change their time zones from the Mountain Standard Time (MST) to Mountain Daylight Time (MDT) at a certain time of the year. Some locations follow the Mountain Standard Time (MST) in winter, and some locations follow the Mountain Daylight Time in summer. For example, Colorado, Montana, New Mexico, Utah, Idaho (except the western counties), Kansas (some western counties), Southwestern parts of North Dakota. Some locations, such as Sonora in Mexico and Arizona in the USA, follow the Mountain Standard Time all around the year.
Main Differences Between PDT and UDT
- The Pacific Time Zone (PDT) covers locations in the USA, including Washington, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, California. Vancouver, Canada. On the contrary, the Mountain Daylight Time covers locations in the USA such as Utah, Navajo Nation in the state of Arizona, Cambridge Bay in Canada.
- The largest region covered by the Pacific Time Zone is Los Angeles, California, the USA. On the other hand, the largest location covered by the Mountain Daylight Time in Phoenix, Arizona, USA.
- The Pacific Time Zone (PDT) is one hour behind the Mountain Daylight Time (MDT). Meaning that the time difference between both the time zones is one hour.
- The Pacific Time Zone (PDT) is seven hours behind the Coordinated Universal Time. On the other hand, the Mountain Daylight Time is six hours behind the Coordinated Universal Time.
- The Formula used to calculated standard time in the locations covered by the Pacific Time Zone (PDT) is UTC-7:00. On the contrary, the formula used to calculate the standard time in the locations covered by the Mountain Daylight Time (MDT) is UTC-6:00.
Conclusion
Different countries follow different time zones and make it convenient to measure and calculate time in their lives. Time being an important part helps us to set a schedule about different things we do in our lives. Both the time zones have made it feasible for the people that follow them to measure and calculate the time since their establishment.
The system of time zones has made it possible for people to live a disciplined and harmonic life without any problems. Many advancements in this system are expected in the future years.
References
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0264999310001033
- https://dl.acm.org/doi/abs/10.1145/1718918.1718947