Brazil has three time zones. Daylight saving time (summer time) is also observed by the Southern, Southeast and Central-Western Brazilian states.
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Time zones
Brasília official time (UTC–3)
The main time zone of Brazil corresponds to the time at Brasília. All the other time zones are given as offsets to it.
Outside of summer time, it corresponds to UTC−3; during summer time, it changes to UTC−2, but this change is not followed by all states. It comprises the states in the Southeast Region, the South Region and the Northeast Region (except some islands), the states of Goiás, Tocantins, Pará, and Amapá, plus the Brazilian Federal District.
Brasília time + 1 (UTC–2)
This time zone corresponds to UTC−2. It is followed by a few Atlantic islands on the east coast of Brazil (Fernando de Noronha, Trindade, Martin Vaz, Atol das Rocas, Saint Peter and Paul Rocks).
Brasília time − 1 (UTC–4)
Outside of summer time, this time zone corresponds to UTC−4; during summer time, it changes to UTC−3, but this change is not followed by all states. It is used in the states of Amazonas, Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, Rondônia, and Roraima, and since mid-2008, also in the state of Acre.
Until 2008, the west side of Pará was also part of this time zone, when it joined the rest of the state in observing Brasília time.
Brasília time − 2 (UTC−5, Defunct)
Until 2008, the far-western tip of the country, which included the southwestern part of the state of Amazonas and the entire state of Acre, was part of a fourth time zone, corresponding to UTC−5. However, on June 24, 2008, these areas advanced their clocks by an hour, so that they became part of the UTC−4 time zone.[1]
Summer time
Daylight Saving Time starts on the 3rd Sunday of October and ends on the 3rd Sunday of February. Occasionally, in years when the Carnival celebrations fall on the 3rd Sunday of February, DST's ending is postponed to the following Sunday[2].
It is observed by Southern, Southeast and Central-Western Brazil, i.e. the states of Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina, Paraná, São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Espírito Santo, Minas Gerais, Goiás, Mato Grosso and Mato Grosso do Sul, plus the Federal District.
The clock is moved forward by one hour between the start and end dates, moving Brasília Official Time from UTC-3 to UTC-2; the other states that do not follow summer time observe a change of the offset to Brasília time.
History
Summer time in Brazil was first adopted in 1931[3]. Initially, it applied to the whole country (with an exception in part of 1963); since 1988, it started being used only in part of the country[4].
Before 2008, there were no fixed start and end dates for summer time, nor which states should or should not follow it; they were decided every year by one or more decrees, sometimes published very close to their start date[4].
See also
- The zoneinfo database has detailed time zone information for Brazil
- List of time zones
References
- ^ "Brazil Abolishes Its Fourth Time Zone in 2008". http://www.timeanddate.com/news/time/brazil-abolishes-fourth-time-zone.html. Retrieved 2008-06-25.
- ^ "Decreto 6.558 de 2008, sobre o Horário de Verão no Brasil" (in Portuguese). http://pcdsh01.on.br/HVdecreto6558_20080908.JPG. Retrieved 2008-11-08.
- ^ "HISTÓRICO DO HORÁRIO DE VERÃO" (in Portuguese). http://pcdsh01.on.br/HISTHV.htm. Retrieved 2007-01-23.
- ^ a b "Decretos sobre o Horário de Verão no Brasil" (in Portuguese). http://pcdsh01.on.br/DecHV.html. Retrieved 2007-01-23.
External links
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