Kilometres per hour (km/h) to Metres per second (m/s)
To convert kilometres per hour to metres per second, divide by 3.6. This conversion is commonly needed in physics problems, meteorology, and engineering. A speed of 72 km/h equals exactly 20 m/s — a useful benchmark to memorise.
Frequently asked questions
Thirty-six km/h divided by 3.6 equals exactly 10 m/s. This is a classic benchmark in physics: 36 km/h = 10 m/s. For context, the top sprint speed of a professional athlete is around 10–12 m/s (36–43 km/h).
One hundred and twenty km/h divided by 3.6 gives 33.33 m/s. At motorway speed, a car therefore travels over 33 metres in a single second. This is why reaction time and stopping distances are so significant at high speeds.
1 km/h means 1,000 metres per 3,600 seconds, which simplifies to 1 ÷ 3.6 m/s. The factor 3.6 comes from 3,600 seconds ÷ 1,000 metres. Inversely, 1 m/s × 3.6 = 3.6 km/h.
Sixty km/h divided by 3.6 equals 16.67 m/s. On the Beaufort scale, this corresponds to approximately force 7 (near gale), with wind speeds between 13.9 and 17.1 m/s. Met Office forecasts typically give wind speeds in mph, but the underlying measurements are often in m/s.