Standard time is the synchronization of
clocks within a geographical area or region to a single time standard, rather than using
solar time or a locally chosen
meridian (longitude) to establish a
local mean time standard. Historically, the concept was established during the 19th century to aid
weather forecasting and train travel. Applied globally in the 20th century, the geographical areas became extended around evenly spaced meridians into
time zones which (usually) centered on them. The standard time set in each time zone has come to be defined in terms of offsets from
Universal Time. In regions where
daylight saving time is used, that time is defined by another offset, from the standard time in its applicable time zone(s).