How to convert epoch time to datetime in pandas?

Given a Pandas DataFrame, we have to convert epoch time to datetime.
Submitted by Pranit Sharma, on June 15, 2022

Pandas is a special tool that allows us to perform complex manipulations of data effectively and efficiently. Inside pandas, we mostly deal with a dataset in the form of DataFrame. DataFrames are 2-dimensional data structures in pandas. DataFrames consist of rows, columns, and the data. The Data inside the DataFrame can be of any type.

What is Epoch Time?

Epoch time or Unix time is the standard convention for representing real-world time. The epoch time or the real world time starts at 00:00:00 UTC where UTC stands for Coordinated Universal Time.

Problem statement

Given a Pandas DataFrame whose column values are in epoch time format, we have to convert epoch time to datetime.

Converting epoch time to datetime in pandas

To convert this epoch time into the readable date-time format, we will use pandas.to_datetime() and we will pass our required column along with another parameter unit = 's' inside this method.

Note

To work with pandas, we need to import pandas package first, below is the syntax:

import pandas as pd

Let us understand with the help of an example,

Python program to convert epoch time to datetime

# Importing pandas package
import pandas as pd

# Creating a dictionary
d = {
    'A':['Monday','Tuesday','Wednesday','Thursday'],
    'B':[1.513753e+09,1.513753e+09,1.513753e+09,1.513753e+09]
}

# Creating a DataFrame
df = pd.DataFrame(d)

print("Created DataFrame:\n",df,"\n")

# Converting Date format
result = pd.to_datetime(df['B'],unit='s')

# Display result
print("Converted Datatime:\n",result)

Output

The output of the above program is:

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