Time in Brazil
Brazil has three time zones. Daylight saving time (summer time) is also observed by the Southern, Southeast and Central-Western Brazilian states. A proposal to switch the entire country to a single UTC offset is under consideration.[1]
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Time zones [edit]
Brasília official time - BRT (UTC-03) [edit]
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-03; during summer time, it changes to UTC-02, 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 Federal District.
Brasília time + 1 (UTC-02) [edit]
This time zone corresponds to UTC-02. 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-04) [edit]
Outside of summer time, this time zone corresponds to UTC-04; during summer time, it changes to UTC-03, 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 area of Pará west of the Xingu River was also part of this time zone, when it joined the rest of the state in observing Brasília time.
Brasília time − 2 (UTC-05, Defunct) [edit]
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-05. However, on June 24, 2008, these areas advanced their clocks by an hour, so that they became part of the UTC-04 time zone.[2] In a referendum held on October 31, 2010, a majority of Acre voters voted in favour of returning the state to the UTC-05, and, if given the support by the Brazilian Congress, the time zone would be reestablished.[3]
Daylight saving time [edit]
Daylight saving time (DST) starts on the third Sunday of October and ends on the third Sunday of February. Occasionally, in years when the Carnival celebrations fall on the third Sunday of February, DST's ending is postponed to the following Sunday.[4]
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).[4]
During the 2011-12 summer, the Northeastern state of Bahia also observed daylight saving time as an experiment.[5] For the 2012-13 summer, the Northern state of Tocantins will observe it, also as a test, for the first time since its creation, in 1988.[6]
The clock is moved forward by one hour between the start and end dates, moving Brasília Official Time from UTC-03 to UTC-02; the other states that do not follow summer time observe a change of the offset to Brasília time.
IANA time zone database [edit]
The IANA time zone database contains 16 zones for Brazil. Columns marked with * are from the file zone.tab of the database.
| c.c.* | coordinates* | TZ* | comments* | UTC offset | DST | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BR | -0351-03225 | America/Noronha | Atlantic islands | −02:00 | - | |
| BR | -0127-04829 | America/Belem | Amapa, E Para | −03:00 | - | |
| BR | -0343-03830 | America/Fortaleza | NE Brazil (MA, PI, CE, RN, PB) | −03:00 | - | |
| BR | -0803-03454 | America/Recife | Pernambuco | −03:00 | - | |
| BR | -0712-04812 | America/Araguaina | Tocantins | −03:00 | - | |
| BR | -0940-03543 | America/Maceio | Alagoas, Sergipe | −03:00 | - | |
| BR | -1259-03831 | America/Bahia | Bahia | −03:00 | −02:00 | |
| BR | -2332-04637 | America/Sao_Paulo | S & SE Brazil (GO, DF, MG, ES, RJ, SP, PR, SC, RS) | −03:00 | −02:00 | |
| BR | -2027-05437 | America/Campo_Grande | Mato Grosso do Sul | −04:00 | −03:00 | |
| BR | -1535-05605 | America/Cuiaba | Mato Grosso | −04:00 | −03:00 | |
| BR | -0226-05452 | America/Santarem | W Para | −03:00 | - | |
| BR | -0846-06354 | America/Porto_Velho | Rondonia | −04:00 | - | |
| BR | +0249-06040 | America/Boa_Vista | Roraima | −04:00 | - | |
| BR | -0308-06001 | America/Manaus | E Amazonas | −04:00 | - | |
| BR | -0640-06952 | America/Eirunepe | W Amazonas | −04:00 | - | |
| BR | -0958-06748 | America/Rio_Branco | Acre | −04:00 | - |
See also [edit]
References [edit]
- ^ "Território brasileiro poderá ter fuso unificado". Retrieved 2010-03-12.
- ^ "Brazil Abolishes Its Fourth Time Zone in 2008". Retrieved 2008-06-25.
- ^ "Time Zone Change is Possible in Acre, Brazil".
- ^ a b "Decreto 6.558 de 2008, sobre o Horário de Verão no Brasil" (in Portuguese). Retrieved 2008-11-08.
- ^ "Decreto 7.584 de 2011, sobre o Horário de Verão no Brasil" (in Portuguese). Retrieved 2011-10-16.
- ^ "Decreto 7.826 de 2012, sobre o Horário de Verão no Brasil" (in Portuguese). Retrieved 2012-10-19.
