LOCAL_TO_UTC()

All functions > DATE AND TIME > LOCAL_TO_UTC()

Treats a naive TIMESTAMP as local wall time in the given zone and returns the same instant as a naive UTC TIMESTAMP.

Signatures

Returns: UTC wall time for that instant (naive TIMESTAMP)

LOCAL_TO_UTC(timestamp: TIMESTAMP, timezone: VARCHAR) → TIMESTAMP

Notes

• The first argument must be a naive TIMESTAMP (not TIMESTAMPTZ); pair with MAKE_TIMESTAMP() when building from calendar parts.
• Accepts the same timezone names as UTC_TO_LOCAL()
• Note: the sign in 'Etc/GMT±N' is POSIX-inverted — 'Etc/GMT-2' means UTC+2
• Propagates NULL when the timestamp is NULL
• Presentation of a UTC-stored instant in a zone uses UTC_TO_LOCAL()

Examples

SELECT
    -- Local Paris wall time → UTC (CET = UTC+1 in March)
    f1 := LOCAL_TO_UTC(
        MAKE_TIMESTAMP(
            ROW(
                2024 AS year,
                3 AS month,
                15 AS day,
                14 AS hour,
                30 AS minute,
                45 AS second
            )
        ),
        'Europe/Paris'
    ),
    -- Local New York wall time → UTC (EDT, UTC-4 in March)
    f2 := LOCAL_TO_UTC(TIMESTAMP '2024-03-15 14:30:00', 'America/New_York'),
    -- NULL propagates
    f3 := LOCAL_TO_UTC(NULL(TIMESTAMP), 'Europe/Paris')
;