How to convert local time string to UTC?

Question

How do I convert a datetime string in local time to a string in UTC time?

I\'m sure I\'ve done this before, but can\'t find it and SO will hopefull

Answer 1

if you prefer datetime.datetime:

dt = datetime.strptime("2008-09-17 14:04:00","%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S")
utc_struct_time = time.gmtime(time.mktime(dt.timetuple()))
utc_dt = datetime.fromtimestamp(time.mktime(utc_struct_time))
print dt.strftime("%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S")