Daylight saving time around the world

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Daylight saving time around the world, showing usage and a short history by location in alphabetic order.

Contents 1 Africa 1.1 Egypt 1.2 Mauritius 1.3 Morocco 1.4 Namibia 1.5 Tunisia 2 Asia 2.1 People's Republic of China 2.2 Bangladesh 2.3 Hong Kong 2.4 India 2.5 Iran 2.6 Iraq 2.7 Israel 2.8 Japan 2.9 Jordan 2.10 Kazakhstan 2.11 Kyrgyzstan 2.12 Lebanon 2.13 Pakistan 2.14 Philippines 2.15 South Korea 2.16 Syria 2.17 Taiwan 2.18 No DST 3 Oceania 3.1 Samoa 3.2 Australia 3.3 New Zealand 3.4 Hawaii 3.5 U.S. Territories 4 Europe 4.1 In general 4.2 Denmark 4.3 Iceland 4.4 Norway 4.5 Romania 4.6 Russia 4.7 Sweden 4.8 Turkey 5 North America 5.1 Canada 5.1.1 British Columbia 5.1.2 Nunavut 5.1.3 Ontario 5.1.4 Quebec 5.1.5 Saskatchewan 5.2 Greenland 5.3 Mexico 5.3.1 Baja California 5.3.2 Sonora 5.3.3 Island territories 5.4 United States 5.4.1 2007 to the present 5.5 Central America 5.5.1 Guatemala 5.5.2 Honduras 5.5.3 Nicaragua 5.6 West Indies 5.6.1 Cuba 6 South America 6.1 Argentina 6.2 Brazil 6.3 Chile 6.4 Colombia 6.5 Ecuador 6.6 Falkland Islands 6.7 Paraguay 6.8 Uruguay 6.9 Rest of South America 7 See also 8 References 9 External links

[edit] Africa

The only African countries which use daylight saving time are:

• Canary Islands From the last Sunday in March to the last Sunday in October and UTC.^[1]
• Egypt From the last Friday in April to the last Thursday in September and UTC+3.
• Mauritius From the last Sunday in October to last Sunday in March and UTC+5.
• Morocco From June 1 to August 21 (in 2009) and UTC+1.
• Namibia From the first Sunday in September to the first Sunday in April and UTC+2.
• Tunisia From the last Sunday in March to the last Sunday in October and UTC+2. (ABOLISHED IN 2009)

[edit] Egypt

The British first instituted daylight saving time in Egypt during the Second World War, specifically between 1940 and 1945. The practice was stopped after the war, but resumed 12 years later, in 1957. Egypt normally observes daylight saving time between the last Thursday in April and the last Thursday in September when the clocks are three hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time (UTC+3). The change is at midnight (local time); i.e. on the last Thursday of April, one second after 23:59:59 becomes 1:00:00 on Friday. Daylight saving time ends on the last Thursday of September; on that Thursday, one second after 23:59:59 becomes 23:00:00. The date does not change when the first 00:00 midnight occurs; for all practical purposes, midnight does not occur until after the second 23:59:59. An exception is made for Ramadan; in 2006 the end of DST took place one week earlier, on September 21, 2006, to take place before the start of the holy month of Ramadan.^[2]

[edit] Mauritius

Mauritius DST period starts on last Sunday in October, and ends on last Sunday in March.^[3].

Mauritius will not repeat DST in 2009 ^[4]

[edit] Morocco

For the year 2008, DST began on June 1, and ended on September 1, 2008. This was the first time Morocco had used daylight saving time since 1978, and it has not been decided whether to use it in future years. Morocco implement DST again in 2009 starting on June 1, 2009.^[5]

[edit] Namibia

DST begins on the first Sunday in September, and ends on the first Sunday in April.

[edit] Tunisia

Tunisia adopted daylight saving time for the first time in 2005 starting 1 May 2005 and following EU time schedules thereafter. This comes as a move by the government to promote saving of energy. In 2009 the government of Tunisia canceled DST and kept the standard time all year round.

[edit] Asia

[edit] People's Republic of China

The People's Republic of China experimented with DST from 1986, but abandoned DST from 1992 onwards. The PRC now uses one time zone (UTC+8) for the whole country.

[edit] Bangladesh

The Bangladesh government agreed on a cabinet meeting that DST will be introduced from the midnight of June 19, 2009; time will be forwarded by one hour. However, the date for the falling back has not been agreed upon yet.^[6]

[edit] Hong Kong

Hong Kong used DST beginning in 1948, but abandoned it from 1980 onwards^[7].

[edit] India

The Republic of India used Daylight Saving Time(DST) briefly during wartime. Currently, India does not observe DST.

[edit] Iran

Before 1979, DST was observed in Iran. Thereafter it was abandoned until 1989, when it started on the first day of Farvardin (21-22 March) in the Iranian calendar and ended on the first day of Mehr (23-24 September). In the Spring of 2006, the government of Iran ceased observing DST.^[8] In September 2007, however, the Majlis (Iranian parliament) passed a law restoring daylight saving time beginning from the spring of 2008, despite opposition by the Ahmadinejad government.

[edit] Iraq

During 2003-2007, Iraq observed DST from the first Friday in April to the last Friday in October. Before 2003, DST was observed from the last Thursday in April to the last Thursday in October.

Iraq did not observe DST since 2008.^[9]

[edit] Israel

Israel observes DST starting on the last Friday before April 2 and ending at 02:00 on the Sunday between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Until 2005, the schedule was variable: the only requirement was that there be at least 150 days per year of DST, and the dates were set out each year by the Ministry of the Interior.^[10]

In territories controlled by the Palestinian National Authority, DST ends later, which can lead to some confusion. On September 5, 1999, terrorists were transporting a bomb that they mistakenly thought was set to go off at 17:30 Israel Standard Time; it was actually set for 17:30 Palestinian Daylight Time, which was an hour ahead. As a result, the bomb went off while the bomb was still being transported, killing the terrorists (and earning them a Darwin Award).^[11]

[edit] Japan

From 1948 to 1951, Japan observed DST between May and September every year under an initiative of the U.S.-led occupation army. The unpopularity of DST, for which people complained about sleep disruption and longer daytime labor (some workers had to work from early morning till dusk) caused Japan to abandon DST in 1952, shortly after its sovereignty was restored upon the coming into effect of the San Francisco Peace Treaty. Since then, DST has never been officially implemented nationwide in Japan.

Starting in the late 1990s, a movement to reinstate DST in Japan gained some popularity, aiming at saving energy and increasing recreational time. The Hokkaido region is particularly in favor of this movement because daylight starts as early as 03:30 (in standard time) there in summer due to its high latitude and its location near the eastern edge of the time zone. In the early 2000s, a few local governments and commerce departments promoted unmandated hour-earlier work schedule experiments during the summer without officially resetting clocks.

The Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy is expected to propose that the Japanese government begin studying DST in an attempt to help combat global warming. The former Japanese PM Shinzo Abe is reportedly gravely concerned about global warming, and his government is determined to introduce DST.^[12] However, it is not clear that DST would conserve energy in Japan. A 2007 simulation estimated that introducing DST to Japan would increase energy use in Osaka residences by 0.13%, with a 0.02% saving due to lighting more than outweighed by a 0.15% increase due to cooling costs; the simulation did not examine non-residential buildings.^[13]

[edit] Jordan

Jordan UTC+2 observes daylight saving time from the last Friday of March to the last Friday of October.

[edit] Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan made a decision to stop observing DST in 2005, citing health complications as well as lowered productivity and a lack of economic benefits.^[14]

[edit] Kyrgyzstan

Kyrgyzstan voted to stop observing DST in 2005 and remain on UTC+6 as Standard Time (which used to be Kyrgyzstan Summer Time), thus still saving energy.

[edit] Lebanon

Lebanon has the same rules as the EU Countries, starting on the last Sunday of March and finishing on the last Sunday in October.

[edit] Pakistan

Pakistan experimented with DST in 2002, going from +5:00 to +6:00 on the first Sunday in April at 00:00 to the first Sunday in October at 00:00. Pakistan has implemented DST again from June 1, 2008 to August 31, 2008, to meet the annual shortfall of 4 gigawatts of electricity instead of enforcing daily power cuts in households and factories.^[15] The government later extended the schedule to October 31, which also included the holy month of Ramadan, which began in early September. In 2009 DST starts on April 15, and ends in November 1.

[edit] Philippines

The Philippines experimented with DST for short periods during the presidencies of Corazon Aquino (1986 to 1992) and Fidel Ramos (1992 to 1998). DST was primarily intended to help deal with the country's energy crisis by minimizing the number of hours during which electric lighting was needed. On April 2006, the Philippine Department of Trade and Industry again proposed that DST be implemented to help deal with rising oil prices.^[16][17]

[edit] South Korea

South Korea observed DST from 1948 to 1951, from 1955 to 1960, and from 1987 to 1988. South Korea does not currently observe DST.

[edit] Syria

Syria observed DST at UTC+3, in 2006 from 30 March until 21 September (a change from 30 September). Now, DST is observed from the last Friday of March to the first of November.

[edit] Taiwan

Taiwan implemented DST from 1945 to 1961, revoked DST from 1962 to 1973, reinstated DST from 1974 to 1975, and abandoned DST from 1976 onwards.

[edit] No DST

These countries or regions do not use daylight saving time:

• Afghanistan
• Bahrain
• Bangladesh (will begin using DST from June 19)^[18]
• Bhutan
• Brunei
• Cambodia
• China
• Hong Kong
• India
• Indonesia
• Iraq
• Japan
• Kazakhstan
• Kuwait
• Kyrgyzstan
• Laos
• Macau
• Malaysia
• Mongolia
• Myanmar
• Nepal
• North Korea
• Oman
• Papua New Guinea
• Philippines
• Qatar
• Saudi Arabia
• Singapore
• South Africa
• South Korea
• Taiwan
• Tajikistan
• Thailand
• Timor Leste
• Turkmenistan
• United Arab Emirates
• Uzbekistan
• Vietnam
• Yemen
• Zimbabwe

[edit] Oceania

New Zealand and parts of Australia are the only areas in Oceania that currently observe DST. Samoa also starts with DST in 2009, starting on the last Sunday in October and ending on last Sunday in March.

[edit] Samoa

Samoa starts with DST in 2009, starting on the last Sunday in October and ending on last Sunday in March.

[edit] Australia

Daylight saving was first used in Australia during World War I, and was applied in all states. It was used again during the Second World War. A drought in Tasmania in 1967 led to the reintroduction of daylight saving in that state during the summer, and this was repeated every summer since then. A trial season of daylight saving commenced in 1971 in New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia and Victoria. In 1972 NSW, SA and Victoria joined Tasmania in regular daylight saving. Queensland had daylight saving from 1989 to 1992.^[19]

Currently, New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania, Australian Capital Territory and South Australia apply DST each year, from the first Sunday in October to the first Sunday in April. Originally Tasmania alone commenced daylight saving on the first Sunday in October, while the other states began on the last Sunday in October and finished on the last Sunday in March, until 2008. From 2008/09 daylight saving has been extended another four weeks in NSW, Victoria, SA and the ACT, in addition to Tasmania, from the first Sunday in October to the first Sunday in April.

In Western Australia, four referendums in 1975, 1984, 1992 and 2009 have rejected DST.^[20] In 2006, the Parliament of Western Australia approved a three-year daylight saving trial to be followed by a referendum to decide whether DST should be put in place permanently. However, public opposition mounted during the first year of the trial,^[21] and the WA Nationals announced a public campaign to bring the referendum forward to 2007.^[22] The trial continued until the referendum, held on 16 May 2009.^[23] The result was another rejection of DST, by a larger margin compared to the three previous referendums. Although as previously the suburbs of the state capital, Perth, supported the proposal, it was by a much narrower margin than before with significant swings against it in several areas, most notably in the East Metropolitan region. As a result, the Premier of Western Australia has said that the DST issue should not be considered for at least another 20 years.^[24]

The Northern Territory and Queensland do not observe DST. Queensland experimented with DST in the early 1970s, and again in the early 1990s, but it was abandoned after a majority of residents voted against it in a 1992 referendum. It continues to be a source of controversy, particularly in the highly populated south-eastern corner of the state which borders New South Wales, where DST is observed. The Northern Territory experimented with daylight saving in the early part of the 20th century. It was last used in 1944.

[edit] New Zealand

From 30 April 2007, DST begins at 02:00 NZST on the last Sunday in September each year, and ends at 03:00 NZDT (or 02:00 NZST as defined in the Time Act 1974) on the first Sunday in April.

New Zealand time, including DST, is used by several Antarctic bases that are supplied from New Zealand. This results in the oddity that the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station sets its clocks an hour further ahead during the southern summer, when the sun is constantly above the horizon, than in the southern winter, when the sun is constantly below the horizon. The extreme geographic position of the base means that no possible adjustment of the daily activity cycle can have any effect on the amount of sunlight received during those activities. However, the arrangement presumably makes real time communications with New Zealand more practical, particularly in dealing with offices.

[edit] Hawaii

Because of Hawaii's tropical latitude, there is not a large variation in daylight length between winter and summer. Advancing the clock in Hawaii would make sunrise times close to 7:00 A.M. even in June.^[25] (Most of the inhabited islands are located close to the west end of the Hawaii-Aleutian time zone, but Oahu, Kauai and Niihau are located more than 7_ degrees west of the Hawaii-Aleutian time zone's meridian and should, theoretically, be located in the next time zone to the west.) Hawaii did experiment with DST for three weeks between April 30, 1933 and May 21, 1933; there is no record as to why it was implemented or discontinued.^{[26][unreliable source?]} Hawaii has never observed daylight saving time under the Uniform Time Act, having opted out of the Act's provisions in 1967.^[27]

[edit] U.S. Territories

All U.S. insular territories with civilian government in Oceania, American Samoa, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands lie in the tropics, and do not observe DST.

[edit] Europe

[edit] In general

All countries in Europe except Iceland observe DST, and most change on the same date and time, starting on the last Sunday in March and ending on the last Sunday in October. Before 1996, DST ended on the last Sunday in September in most European countries; however in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland DST ended on the fourth (which some years is not the last) Sunday in October. In the West European (UTC), Central European (CET, UTC+1), and East European (UTC+2) time zones the change is simultaneous: on both dates the clocks are changed everywhere at 01:00 UTC, i.e. from local times of 01:00/02:00/03:00 to 02:00/03:00/04:00 in March, and vice versa in October.^[28] See also: European Summer Time and British Summer Time which includes a description of Double Summer Time.

[edit] Denmark

Although DST has been observed in Denmark for the past few decades and its observance will continue in accordance with EU orders, a national association against DST (Landsforeningen mod Sommertid) still exists.^[29]

[edit] Iceland

With Iceland observing UTC all year round despite being at a longitude which would indicate UTC-1, the country may be thought of as being on continuous DST. Iceland's high latitude means that sunset and sunrise times change by many hours over the year, and the effect of changing the clock by one hour would, in comparison, be small.

[edit] Norway

In Norway, DST (locally known by the expression "summer-time") was introduced in 1916, 1940-45, and 1959-65. The arrangement was controversial, and in 1965 the Norwegian parliament (Stortinget) voted to discontinue the practice. However, in 1980 DST was reintroduced, and at present (2009) Norway follows the European Union in this matter.^[30]

[edit] Romania

DST was originally introduced in Romania in 1932 (between May 22 and October 2). Between 1933 and 1940 DST started on the first Sunday in April and ended on the first Sunday in October. The DST was abandoned in 1941, to be reintroduced in 1979. Until 1996, with few exceptions, the DST started at the end of March and ended at the end of September. Since 1997, DST has started in the last Sunday in March and ended on the last Sunday in October, per European Summer Time.^[31]

[edit] Russia

In Russia, daylight saving time was originally introduced on July 1, 1917 by a decree of the Russian Provisional Government,and clocks were moved one hour forward. It was abandoned by a Decree of the Soviet government five months later, clocks being moved one hour back again on December 27.

Daylight saving time was reintroduced in the USSR (Moscow Summer Time) on April 1, 1981, by a decision of the Council of Ministers of the USSR, and its practice continues into post-Soviet times. The changeover dates in Russia are the same as for other European countries, but clocks are moved forward or back at 02:00 local time in all zones. Thus in Moscow (local time = UTC+3 in winter, UTC+4 in summer), DST commences at 23:00 UTC on the day before the last Sunday in March, and ends at 23:00 UTC on the day before the last Sunday in October (note that "day before last Sunday" is not the same as "last Saturday" in a month where the last day is a Saturday).

[edit] Sweden

In Sweden daylight saving time was originally introduced on May 15, 1916. It proved unpopular at the time, and on Sept 30 in the same year, Sweden returned to year-round standard time. This situation continued for more than half a century.

On April 6, 1980, Sweden again introduced daylight saving time, and since then DST has been observed every summer in Sweden. Except for the introduction year 1980, daylight saving time has always started on the last Sunday in March. It ended on the last Sunday in September during the years 1980-1995, and on the last Sunday in October from 1996 onwards, following a unification of start/end dates of DST within the EU as well as in several European countries then outside the EU.

Five days before the reintroduction of DST in 1980, a major Swedish newspaper took the opportunity to publish an April fool's joke on April 1 1980. The joke claimed that DST had been introduced almost in secret with nearly no public information, that everybody was late everywhere, that hardly anyone really knew what the time was, and that there was chaos everywhere.

[edit] Turkey

DST was introduced in Turkey in 1947, but suspended from 1965 through 1972. Since 1974, Turkey follows European Summer Time.

[edit] North America

North America generally follows the same procedure, with each time zone switching at 02:00 LST (local standard time) to 03:00 LDT (local daylight time) on the second Sunday in March, and back from 02:00 LDT to 01:00 LST on the first Sunday in November since 2007. Previously, daylight saving time was four to five weeks shorter (see below).

The Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador is an exception in that the time changes take place at 00:01 local standard time and 00:01 local daylight time respectively.^[32] Also, in 1988, they experimented with double daylight saving time, when the clocks went ahead by two hours, instead of the usual one hour.^[33]

[edit] Canada

In Canada, time is under provincial and territorial jurisdiction, not federal. Since at least the 1970s, all provinces and territories have matched their DST start and end dates to those used in the United States, and when the U.S. Congress changed the rules effective 2007 the provinces and territories (except Saskatchewan) changed their time legislation to match. Since 2007, their DST starts on the second Sunday in March, and returns to standard time on the first Sunday of November, to coincide with the U.S. dates.^[32][34][35] As noted below, most of Saskatchewan does not technically observe DST but rather observes a skewed 'standard time' that has been advanced one hour forward permanently (that is, observing what is sometimes known as 'year-round DST').

[edit] British Columbia

Most of British Columbia (BC) is on Pacific Time and observes DST. However there are two main exceptions:

Part of the Peace River Regional District of BC (including the communities of Chetwynd, Dawson Creek, Hudson's Hope, Fort St. John, Taylor and Tumbler Ridge) is on Mountain Time and does not observe DST. This means that in winter the region is on the same time as Edmonton, Alberta, and in summer is on the same time as Vancouver, BC.

The East Kootenay region of south-eastern BC (including the communities of Cranbrook, Fernie, Golden and Invermere) is on Mountain Time and observes DST. This means that the region is always on the same time as Edmonton, Alberta. One exception in this region is Creston, which observes MST year round. Time in Creston is therefore the same as Edmonton in the winter, and Vancouver in the summer.

[edit] Nunavut

While the rest of Nunavut observes DST, Southampton Island including Coral Harbour remain on Eastern Standard Time throughout the year.

[edit] Ontario

Most of Ontario uses DST. Pickle Lake, New Osnaburgh, and Atikokan, three communities located within the Central Time Zone in Northwestern Ontario, all observe Daylight saving time all year long. (This has the effect of having them on Central Time during the summer tourist season, and Eastern Time during the winter - without ever changing their clocks.)

[edit] Quebec

Most of Quebec observes DST. However, the eastern reaches of Quebec's North Shore, east of 63° west longitude, are in the Atlantic Time Zone, but do not observe DST (see exception, below). The effect is that in summer their clocks match those of the rest of the province, while in October, their clocks are rejoined by their Atlantic Standard Time neighbours. Although places east of 63° west are officially on Atlantic Time, local custom is to use Eastern Time as far east as the Natashquan River. Those communities observe DST, including all of Anticosti Island, which is bisected by the 63rd meridian.

[edit] Saskatchewan

Officially, the province is part of the Central time zone (UTC-6). This time zone designation was implemented in 1966, when the Saskatchewan Time Act was passed in order to standardize time province-wide. This creates a situation in which Saskatchewan is effectively on DST year round. The Mountain Standard Time line is actually centred in Saskatchewan and the entire province is within the MST (UTC-7) zone.

The charter of the city of Lloydminster, which is bisected by the Saskatchewan–Alberta boundary, gives it a special exemption. Lloydminster and the immediately surrounding region in Saskatchewan observe the same time as Alberta: Mountain Standard Time with officially sanctioned seasonal daylight saving.^[36] Along the Manitoba border, the small, remote Saskatchewan towns of Denare Beach and Creighton unofficially observe DST in the central time zone, thereby keeping the same time as larger neighboring Manitoba communities.

[edit] Greenland

Greenland (excluding two minor areas at Danmarkshavn and Pituffik) observes DST and uses the European convention (DST begins 01:00 UTC last Sunday in March and ends 01:00 UTC last Sunday in October). Most of the country is in the UTC-3 zone in the winter (UTC-2 in the summer).

[edit] Mexico

Mexico adopted DST nationwide in 1996, even in its tropical regions, because of its increasing economic ties to the United States. Although the United States has changed the schedule for DST beginning in 2007, Mexico will not be going along with it. DST has often been a contentious issue in Mexico and is not likely to be extended. Daylight saving time for Mexico begins the first Sunday of April, and ends last Sunday of October; and is usually refer as "Summer Schedule".

[edit] Baja California

The state of Baja California has observed daylight saving time from several decades ago and until 1996 was the only Mexican state to observe it. Its neighbor, the US state of California, observes DST a few weeks earlier, complicating economic ties between border cities.

[edit] Sonora

The state of Sonora has not observed DST since 1998 because of the non-observance of DST by its neighbor Arizona and its important economic ties with the US state.^[37]

[edit] Island territories

The Marías Islands and the Revillagigedo Archipelago do not observe DST. The westernmost island of the Revillagigedo Archipelago, Clarion Island, uses UTC-8 (PST) all the time, thus during DST, Mexico has 4 different time zones.

[edit] United States

The schedule through 2006 in the United States was that DST began on the first Sunday in April (April 2, 2006), and changed back to standard time on the last Sunday in October (October 29, 2006). The time is adjusted at 2:00 AM (0200) local time.

Time Zone	Standard Time	Daylight Saving Time
USA Eastern	-5 hours	-4 hours 1:29 AM (0129)
USA Central	-6 hours	-5 hours 12:29 AM (0029)
USA Mountain	-7 hours	-6 hours 11:29 PM (2329)
USA Arizona	-7 hours	-6 hours 10:29 PM (2229)
USA Pacific	-8 hours	-7 hours 10:29 PM (2229)
USA Alaska	-9 hours	-8 hours 9:29 PM (2129)
USA Aleutian	-10 hours	-9 hours 8:29 PM (2029)
USA Hawaii	-10 hours	-9 hours 7:29 PM(1929)

Local time in 12 hour (and 24 hour) format

[edit] 2007 to the present

By the Energy Policy Act of 2005, daylight saving time (DST) was extended in the United States in 2007. DST starts on the second Sunday of March, which is three weeks earlier than in the past, and it ends on the first Sunday of November, one week later than in years past. This change resulted in a new DST period that is four weeks (five in years when March has five Sundays) longer than in previous years.^[38] In 2008 daylight saving time ended at 2:00 AM (0200) on Sunday, November 2, and in 2009 it began at 2:00 AM (0200) on Sunday, March 8.^[39]

[edit] Central America

[edit] Guatemala

Guatemala has used DST from time to time due to energy problems. The last time it used DST was on April 30, 2006, ending on October 1, 2006. However DST was not observed in 2007-2009.^[40]

[edit] Honduras

Honduras adopted DST once, from May 1994 until September 1994 but then abandoned it. On May 7, 2006 it again used DST; however it ended on August 7, 2006, making this the shortest use of DST in the northern hemisphere as it was only applied for 3 months. The government decided not to use DST in 2007.^[41]

[edit] Nicaragua

Nicaragua observed DST from January 1, 1992 until February 20, 1994 but it was stopped. On April 10, 2005 until October 2, 2005 DST was implemented, and the following year the period was similar, beginning on April 30, 2006 and ending on October 1, 2006; this measure was for energy conservation. In 2007, the government of Nicaragua decided to stop observing daylight saving time.

[edit] West Indies

[edit] Cuba

Cuba remained on DST from April 2004 until October 29, 2006. Cuba was on DST from March 11, 2007 to October 28, 2007 and restarted DST again on March 16, 2008. Cuba observes DST from the second Sunday in March to the last Sunday of October.^[42] (According to Radio Relo Cuba will begin DST on Mar 8, 2009 ^[43])

[edit] South America

[edit] Argentina

After a period of not observing DST, on December 21, 2007, Argentina resumed observance of DST in some provinces in an attempt to save energy. For each period, the executive branch must set the specific start and end dates for DST, i.e. there is no fixed annual schedule.

In general, for the 2008-2009 period, the provinces on the east side of the country - most notably the province of Buenos Aires and the City of Buenos Aires and now re-including San Luis - do observe DST, while the western provinces do not (Mendoza, San Juan, Catamarca, La Rioja, Salta, Jujuy, La Pampa, Neuquen, Rio Negro, Chubut, Santa Cruz and Tierra del Fuego).

For 2007-2008, DST started on December 30, 2007 and ended on March 16, 2008. For 2008-2009, DST runs between October 19, 2008 and March 15, 2009 (from the third Sunday in October to the third Sunday in March)

[edit] Brazil

Brazil adopted DST (called horário de verão – "summer time" – in Portuguese) for the first time in 1931, and has used it continuously since 1985 in the southern states (south and southeast regions and the states of Goiás and Mato Grosso do Sul), and in Bahia until 2004. Formerly, starting and ending dates were variable, but in 2008, a decree established a permanent rule: DST starts at 00:00 on the third Sunday in October and ends at 00:00h on the third Sunday in February -- unless the latter falls during Carnaval: in this case, the end of DST is postponed by one week. The next six times in which the end of DST is scheduled to be postponed are 2012, 2015, 2023, 2026, 2034 and 2037. In 2008, DST started on October 19, 2008 and ended on February 15, 2009 in the states of Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina, Paraná, São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Espirito Santo, Minas Gerais, Goiás, Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, and Distrito Federal.

In 2008 the Brazilian government decreed (No. 6558 of 09/09/2008) fixed date for beginning and end of daylight saving time, which always begins on the third Sunday of October at 00:00 am and ends on the third Sunday of February of the year following at 00:00 am.

Exception: If the third Sunday of February occurs during the holiday of carnival, the changes will be postponed to the following Sunday.

[edit] Chile

Chile observes DST from the second Saturday in October to the second Saturday in March, but it may vary. In 2008, for example, the time was adjusted on Sunday, March 30, at 12 midnight.

[edit] Colombia

From February 1992 until March 1993, Colombia suffered rolling blackouts of up to 10 hours a day due to a particularly strong El Niño season, which dried the reservoirs in hydroelectric plants in a country deriving 70% of its energy output from hydroelectric sources; consequently, the government decided to use DST to help save electricity. The experiment failed to deliver the intended results, possibly due to Colombia's low latitude, and the DST experiment was discontinued.^[44]

[edit] Ecuador

President Sixto Durán Ballén imposed daylight saving time in 1992 in an energy-saving effort. It was poorly received by the populace and did not last long.

[edit] Falkland Islands

DST is observed from the first Sunday of September to the third Sunday of April. ^[45]

[edit] Paraguay

Paraguay observes DST under decree 1867 of March 5, 2004. DST ends on the second Sunday of March and starts on the third Sunday of October.

In 2007, DST started on October 15, 2006 and ended on March 11, 2007.

[edit] Uruguay

Since 2004, Uruguay has observed DST. Starting in 2006, DST begins on the first Sunday in October and ends on the second Sunday in March of every year.^[46]

[edit] Rest of South America

These areas do not use daylight saving time:

• Colombia
• Guyana
• Peru
• Venezuela
• The following states of Brazil: Acre, Alagoas, Amapá, Amazonas, Bahia, Ceará, Maranhão, Pará, Paraíba, Pernambuco, Piauí, Rio Grande do Norte, Rondônia, Roraima, Sergipe, and Tocantins.

[edit] See also

• Time zone

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Sources for time zone and daylight saving time data