Atlantic Time Zone

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AST is UTC-4

The Atlantic Standard Time Zone (AST) is a geographical region that keeps time by subtracting four hours from either Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) or Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), resulting in UTC-4 or GMT-4. The clock time in this zone is based on the mean solar time of the 60th degree meridian west of the Greenwich Observatory.

In Canada, the provinces of New Brunswick[1] and Nova Scotia[2] reckon time specifically as an offset of 4 hours from Greenwich Mean time (GMT-4). (UTC is regularly adjusted by means of leap seconds to keep it synchronized to with within 1 second of GMT.) Prince Edward Island and small portions of Quebec (eastern Côte-Nord and the Magdalen Islands) are also part of the Atlantic Standard Time Zone. Officially, the entirety of Newfoundland and Labrador observes Newfoundland Standard Time,[3] but in practice most of Labrador uses the Atlantic Standard Time Zone.

Other parts of the world that keep time by subtracting four hours from UTC include Bermuda, in the North Atlantic; many Caribbean islands, including Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands; and several South American countries, such as Paraguay, Chile, Bolivia, and parts of Brazil. Venezuela used AST until December 9, 2007, when it switched to UTC-4:30.

AST is known (where applicable) as Atlantic Daylight Time (ADT) during daylight saving time, and has one hour added to make it three hours behind GMT (UTC-3).

Major metropolitan areas

Sources

References

  1. ^ "CHAPTER T-6 - Time Definition Act". Retrieved 2008-06-02.
  2. ^ "Time Definition Act". Retrieved 2008-06-02.
  3. ^ "RSNL1990 CHAPTER S-23 - STANDARD TIME ACT". Retrieved 2007-11-16.
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