Daylight saving time around the world
Encyclopedia
Daylight saving time
around the world, showing usage and a short history by location in alphabetic order, grouped by continent. Most areas of North America
and Europe
observe daylight saving time (DST), while most areas of Africa
and Asia
do not. South America
is mixed, with most countries in the warmer north of the continent near the equator
not observing DST, while Chile
, Paraguay
, Uruguay
and parts of southern Brazil do. Oceania
is also mixed, with New Zealand
and parts of southern Australia
observing DST, while most islands do not.
, Australia
, Samoa
and Fiji
are areas of Oceania
that currently observe DST.
DST in Fiji
ended on Sunday 06 March 2011, 03:00 local daylight time and starts on Monday 24 October 2011, 00:00 local standard time
DST in Samoa
ended on Saturday 02 April 2011, 04:00 local daylight time and starts on Sunday 25 September 2011, 00:00 local standard time
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.
The Northern Territory
, Queensland
and Western Australia
do not observe DST.
History
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. In 1971, New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, and the Australian Capital Territory followed Tasmania by observing daylight saving. Western Australia and the Northern Territory did not. Queensland abandoned daylight saving time in 1972.
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.
Queensland
again trialled daylight saving, for three years between 1989 and 1992, with a referendum on daylight saving held on 22 February 1992, which was defeated with a 54.5% ‘no’ vote - with regional and rural areas strongly opposed, while those in the metropolitan South East Queensland
were in favour.
In December 2008, the Daylight Saving for South East Queensland (DS4SEQ)
political party
was officially registered, advocating the implementation of a dual-time zone
arrangement for Daylight Saving in South East Queensland
while the rest of the state maintains standard time
. The party contested the March 2009 Queensland State election
with 32 candidates and received around one percent of the state-wide primary vote, equating to around 2.5% across the 32 electorates contested.
On 14 April 2010, and after being approached by the Daylight Saving for South East Queensland (DS4SEQ)
political party
, Queensland
Independent member Peter Wellington
, introduced the Daylight Saving for South East Queensland Referendum Bill 2010
into Queensland Parliament, calling for a referendum
to be held at the next State election on the introduction of daylight saving into South East Queensland
under a dual-time zone
arrangement. The Bill was defeated in Queensland Parliament on 15 June 2011.
In Western Australia
, four referendum
s in 1975, 1984, 1992 and 2009 have rejected DST.
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, and the WA Nationals
announced a public campaign to bring the referendum forward to 2007. The trial continued until the referendum, held on 16 May 2009. 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.
The Northern Territory experimented with daylight saving in the early part of the 20th century. It was last used in 1944.
restarted DST in 2009 starting on November 29 and ending on April 26, 2010. For the 2010-2011 summer, DST starts on fourth Sunday in October and ends on last Sunday in March.
's tropical
latitude, there is not a large variation in daylight length between winter and summer. Furthermore, most of the inhabited islands are located close to the west end of the Hawaii-Aleutian time zone
, and 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. Therefore advancing the clock in Hawaii would make sunrise times close to 7:00 a.m. even in June.
Hawaii did experiment with DST for three weeks between April 30, 1933 and May 21, 1933; there are no known official records as to why it was implemented or discontinued. Hawaii has never observed daylight saving time under the Uniform Time Act
, having opted out of the Act's provisions in 1967.
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.
The New Zealand dependencies of Cook Islands
, Tokelau
and Niue
do not maintain DST. They are located the other side of the International Date Line
and have 21–23 hours time difference to New Zealand.
starts with DST in 2010, starting on the last Sunday in September and ending on first Sunday in April.
, Guam
, and the Northern Mariana Islands
lie in the tropics and do not observe DST.
introduced the use of a Daylight Saving Time (DST) in 2009 starting on 19 June 2009. Clocks were advanced by an hour making the local time seven hours ahead of UTC, i.e., UTC+7. Clocks were reverted back on 31 December 2009, thereby returning local time to UTC+6.
In 2010, DST would be used between 1 April and 31 October 2010, but it was cancelled.
experimented with DST from 1986, but abandoned DST from 1992 onwards. The PRC now uses one time zone (UTC+8) for the whole country.
(20–21 March) in the Iranian calendar
and ended on the last day of Shahrivar
(20–21 September). In the Spring of 2006, the government of Iran ceased observing DST. 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 contemporary government.
observed DST from the first Friday in April to the last Friday in September.
Iraq stopped observing DST since 2008.
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.
In territories controlled by the Palestinian National Authority
, DST ends later, which can lead to some confusion. On September 5, 1999, terrorists were transporting two bombs that they mistakenly thought were set to go off at 17:30 Israel Standard Time; they were actually set for 17:30 Palestinian Daylight Time, which was an hour ahead. As a result, the bombs went off while being transported, killing the terrorists.
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
made a significant effort to introduce daylight saving time, but was ultimately unsuccessful. 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.
UTC+2 observes daylight saving time from the last Friday of March to the last Friday of October.
made a decision to stop observing DST in 2005, citing health complications as well as lowered productivity and a lack of economic benefits.
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.
.
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 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. This had the counterintuitive effect of making Pakistan half an hour ahead of India, though Pakistan is generally located west of India. The government later extended the schedule to October 31, which also included the holy month of Ramadan, which began in early September. Pakistan used DST again in 2009 then abandoned the practice; as a result, Pakistan no longer uses DST.
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.
observed DST from 1948-51, from 1955-60, and from 1987-88. South Korea does not currently observe DST.
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 last Friday of October.
implemented DST from 1945-61, revoked DST from 1962-73, reinstated DST from 1974-75, revoked DST from 1976-79 and reinstated it in 1980. Taiwan abandoned DST from 1981 onwards.
except Belarus
, Iceland
, and Russia
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. 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. See also: European Summer Time
and British Summer Time
which includes a description of Double Summer Time.
Before 1996, DST ended on the last Sunday in September in most European countries; however in the United Kingdom and Ireland DST ended on the fourth (which some years is not the last) Sunday in October.
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.
However, in 1980 DST was reintroduced, and at present (2010) Norway follows the European Union in this matter.
For many years the official hour in the Madeira Islands was Lisbon hour -1 and in the Azores Islands was Lisbon hour -2.
Today, in the Madeira Islands the official hour is the same of Lisbon and in the Azores Islands is Lisbon hour -1.
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
.
, 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 continued into post-Soviet times. The changeover dates in Russia
were the same as for other European countries, but clocks were 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 commenced at 23:00 UTC on the day before the last Sunday in March, and ended 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).
On February 8, 2011, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev
announced the cancellation of DST in Russia. An hour was added in March 2011 for the last time, and clocks will not move back again in the fall. It may be noted that after this reform many Russian cities have a standard time two hours more than would be suggested by their locations.
daylight saving time was originally introduced on May 15, 1916. It proved unpopular at the time, and on September 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 Day 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.
in 1947, but suspended from 1965 through 1972. Since 1974, Turkey follows European Summer Time.
In 2008, the Turkish Ministry of Energy proposed that Turkey should abolish daylight saving time while at the same time switching to GMT +2.5, originally from 2009 onwards, but when this appeared infeasible, to start in 2011. The plan has not been heard of since.
For the year 2011, Turkey switched to European Summer Time at 3:00 am in the night from Sunday March 27 to Monday March 28, one day later than the rest of Europe, to avoid disrupting the national university-entrance examinations held on March 27.
in 1981.
Egypt
normally observed daylight saving time between the last Thursday in April and the last Thursday in September when the clocks were three hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time (UTC+3
). The change was at midnight (local time); i.e. on the last Thursday of April, one second after 23:59:59 became 1:00:00 on Friday. Daylight saving time ended on the last Thursday of September; on that Thursday, one second after 23:59:59 became 23:00:00. The date did not change when the first 00:00 midnight occurred; for all practical purposes, midnight did not occur until after the second 23:59:59. An exception was made for Ramadan
; in 2006 the end of DST took place one week earlier, on September 21, 2006, which took place before the start of the holy month of Ramadan
. The same practice recurred in 2007 and 2008, to avoid having longer days in Ramadan. In 2009, summer time ended on Thursday, August 20, 5 weeks before the nominal end on the last Thursday in September. In 2010, the DST started on April 30, and ended on October 1, but between August 6 and September 10, DST was cancelled because of Ramadan
. The previous government was planning to take a decision to abolish it in 2011 before the revolution. The transitional government abolished the daylight saving time on April 20, 2011.
Mauritius did not repeat DST since 2009.
For the year 2008, DST began on June 1, and ended on September 1. This was the first time Morocco had used daylight saving time since 1978. In 2009, DST began on June 1 and ended on August 21. In 2010, DST starts on May 2 and ends on August 8, just before Ramadan, as has been the case in recent years.
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. Also, in 1988, they experimented with double daylight saving time, when the clocks went ahead by two hours, instead of the usual one hour.
in the western Atlantic no longer observes Daylight Saving Time, like many Caribbean nations. The last observance of a daylight savings related time clock adjustment was between Sunday, 20 April 1980 at 2:00 AM – Thursday, 25 September 1980 at 2:00 AM. On 25 September the clock was shifted -3:00 – -4:00 where it has remained since.
, 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, DST in Canada 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. 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').
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 the region would be on the same time as Mountain Time in the winter, and Pacific Time in the summer.
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.
While the rest of Nunavut
observes DST, Southampton Island
including Coral Harbour
remain on Eastern Standard Time throughout the year.
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.)
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 November, 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.
Although the entire province is geographically within the MST (UTC-7
) zone, the province is officially part of the Central time zone (UTC-6
) but does not observe Daylight Saving Time. This time zone designation was implemented in 1966, when the Saskatchewan Time Act was passed in order to standardize time province-wide.
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. 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.
(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 populated places in the country are in the UTC-3 zone in the winter (UTC-2 in the summer).
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, most of Mexico did not go 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 referred to as the "Summer Schedule" (Horario de Verano).
In December 2009, the Mexican Congress gave permission to ten northern border cities to synchronize their time to that of their US counterparts, resulting in these cities joining and leaving DST at the same time as the United States, relieving some border problems and confusion.
Matamoros, Tamaulipas
Reynosa, Tamaulipas
Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas
Anáhuac, Nuevo León
Acuña, Coahuila
Piedras Negras, Coahuila
Ojinaga, Chihuahua
Juárez, Chihuahua
Mexicali, Baja California
Tijuana, 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. Since 2010 it follows the extended schedule (beginning second Sunday of March, ending first Sunday of November) that has been used in the United States; this is mainly due to its close economic ties with the US
state of California
. The rest of Mexico will continue to use the old USA/Canada DST schedule (beginning first Sunday of April, ending last Sunday of October).
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.
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.
Most areas of the United States
currently observe daylight saving time. The exceptions are Arizona
, Hawaii
, and the territories of Puerto Rico
, the U.S. Virgin Islands
, American Samoa
, Guam
, and the Northern Mariana Islands
. In Arizona, the Navajo Nation
observes daylight saving time.
From 1987 to 2006, daylight saving time in the United States began on the first Sunday of April and ended on the last Sunday of October. The time is adjusted at 2:00 a.m. (02:00) local time.
By the Energy Policy Act of 2005
, daylight saving time (DST) was extended in the United States beginning in 2007. DST currently starts on the second Sunday of March, which is three or four weeks earlier than in the past, and it ends on the first Sunday of November, one week later than in years past. The time is adjusted at 2:00 a.m. (02:00) local time. 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.
Recent daylight saving time start and end dates are:
Time zones within the United States are:
* Hawaii does not observe DST
San Luis
province, which was previously in a different time zone than most of the country and which formerly observed DST, decided in April 2010 not to change its clocks back and to stay on UTC-3 all year round.
The most recent history of Argentina observing DTS dates from 2007 to 2009. After a period of not observing DST, Argentina
observed DST in some provinces in an attempt to save energy. For each period, the executive branch of the government set the specific start and end dates for DST, i.e. there was no fixed annual schedule.
adopted DST (called horário de verão—"summer time"—in Portuguese
) for the first time in 1931, and it was in effect across the entire country. The duration and regional applicability of DST has varied over the years (see Portuguese Wikipedia page for details). As of 2011, DST is used only in the southern region
(the states of Rio Grande do Sul
, Santa Catarina
, Paraná
), the southeast region
(the states of São Paulo
, Rio de Janeiro
, Espirito Santo
, Minas Gerais
), the central-west region (the state of Goiás
and the Distrito Federal
, and the states of Mato Grosso
and Mato Grosso do Sul
), and in Bahia
.ç+
In October 2011, 32 municipalities of eastern Mato Grosso
, don't follow DST and fixed in Brasilia
time, UTC-03:00 all year round.
Formerly, starting and ending dates were variable, but in 2008, a decree (No. 6558 of 9 September 2008) established a permanent rule: DST starts at 00:00 on the third Sunday in October and ends at 00:00 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.
observes DST from the second Saturday in October to the second Saturday in March, but it may vary (see Time in Chile
). In 2008, for example, the time was adjusted on Sunday, March 30, at 12 midnight.
In 2010, because of the Earthquake, DST remained in effect until April 3. In 2011, in order to prevent energy shortages after a dry summer, DST was first extended until April 2 and then until May 7.
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.
imposed daylight saving time in 1992 in an energy-saving effort. It was poorly received by the populace and did not last long.
The Islands will in 2011 try all year round "summer time"/DST (GMT-3): official clocks will not go back on April 17, 2011. For 2012 it is planned to go back to standard time during the southern hemisphere winter.
However, people in Camp (the countryside areas outside the main settlement, Stanley) do not tend to observe "summer time"/DST and keep their clocks on "Camp time" (GMT-4). Or they use summer time (GMT-3) all year to get more daylight for farming, depending on which source one reads.
In 2007, DST started on October 15, 2006 and ended on March 11, 2007.
In 2010, Paraguay
changed its own DST rules because of the energy crisis, ending DST on the second Sunday in April, a month later than previous years. The start date remains unchanged.
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.
Daylight saving time
Daylight saving time —also summer time in several countries including in British English and European official terminology —is the practice of temporarily advancing clocks during the summertime so that afternoons have more daylight and mornings have less...
around the world, showing usage and a short history by location in alphabetic order, grouped by continent. Most areas of North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
and Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
observe daylight saving time (DST), while most areas of Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
and Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
do not. South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
is mixed, with most countries in the warmer north of the continent near the equator
Equator
An equator is the intersection of a sphere's surface with the plane perpendicular to the sphere's axis of rotation and containing the sphere's center of mass....
not observing DST, while Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
, Paraguay
Paraguay
Paraguay , officially the Republic of Paraguay , is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest. Paraguay lies on both banks of the Paraguay River, which runs through the center of the...
, Uruguay
Uruguay
Uruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area...
and parts of southern Brazil do. Oceania
Oceania
Oceania is a region centered on the islands of the tropical Pacific Ocean. Conceptions of what constitutes Oceania range from the coral atolls and volcanic islands of the South Pacific to the entire insular region between Asia and the Americas, including Australasia and the Malay Archipelago...
is also mixed, with New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
and parts of southern Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
observing DST, while most islands do not.
Oceania
New ZealandTime in New Zealand
New Zealand has two time zones. The main islands use New Zealand Standard Time , 12 hours in advance of Coordinated Universal Time , while the outlying Chatham Islands use Chatham Standard Time , 12 hours 45 minutes in advance of UTC.During summer daylight saving time is observed and clocks are...
, Australia
Time in Australia
Australia uses Standard time, i.e: the same well defined time for a region. The proper names of Australia's time zones are Australian Western Standard Time , Australian Central Standard Time , and Australian Eastern Standard Time...
, Samoa
Samoa
Samoa , officially the Independent State of Samoa, formerly known as Western Samoa is a country encompassing the western part of the Samoan Islands in the South Pacific Ocean. It became independent from New Zealand in 1962. The two main islands of Samoa are Upolu and one of the biggest islands in...
and Fiji
Fiji
Fiji , officially the Republic of Fiji , is an island nation in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about northeast of New Zealand's North Island...
are areas of Oceania
Oceania
Oceania is a region centered on the islands of the tropical Pacific Ocean. Conceptions of what constitutes Oceania range from the coral atolls and volcanic islands of the South Pacific to the entire insular region between Asia and the Americas, including Australasia and the Malay Archipelago...
that currently observe DST.
DST in Fiji
Fiji
Fiji , officially the Republic of Fiji , is an island nation in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about northeast of New Zealand's North Island...
ended on Sunday 06 March 2011, 03:00 local daylight time and starts on Monday 24 October 2011, 00:00 local standard time
DST in Samoa
Samoa
Samoa , officially the Independent State of Samoa, formerly known as Western Samoa is a country encompassing the western part of the Samoan Islands in the South Pacific Ocean. It became independent from New Zealand in 1962. The two main islands of Samoa are Upolu and one of the biggest islands in...
ended on Saturday 02 April 2011, 04:00 local daylight time and starts on Sunday 25 September 2011, 00:00 local standard time
Australia
Present situationCurrently, New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
, Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
, Tasmania
Tasmania
Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
, Australian Capital Territory
Australian Capital Territory
The Australian Capital Territory, often abbreviated ACT, is the capital territory of the Commonwealth of Australia and is the smallest self-governing internal territory...
and South Australia
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
apply DST each year, from the first Sunday in October to the first Sunday in April.
The Northern Territory
Northern Territory
The Northern Territory is a federal territory of Australia, occupying much of the centre of the mainland continent, as well as the central northern regions...
, Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
and Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
do not observe DST.
History
Daylight saving was first used in Australia during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, 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. In 1971, New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, and the Australian Capital Territory followed Tasmania by observing daylight saving. Western Australia and the Northern Territory did not. Queensland abandoned daylight saving time in 1972.
Originally Tasmania
Tasmania
Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
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.
Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
again trialled daylight saving, for three years between 1989 and 1992, with a referendum on daylight saving held on 22 February 1992, which was defeated with a 54.5% ‘no’ vote - with regional and rural areas strongly opposed, while those in the metropolitan South East Queensland
South East Queensland
South East Queensland is a region of the state of Queensland in Australia, which contains approximately two-thirds of the state population...
were in favour.
In December 2008, the Daylight Saving for South East Queensland (DS4SEQ)
Daylight Saving for South East Queensland
Daylight Saving for South East Queensland is a political party in Queensland, Australia. It is a single-issue party, run by volunteers, which advocates the implementation of a dual-time zone arrangement for Daylight Saving in South East Queensland while the remainder of the state maintains...
political party
Political party
A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...
was officially registered, advocating the implementation of a dual-time zone
Time zone
A time zone is a region on Earth that has a uniform standard time for legal, commercial, and social purposes. In order for the same clock time to always correspond to the same portion of the day as the Earth rotates , different places on the Earth need to have different clock times...
arrangement for Daylight Saving in South East Queensland
South East Queensland
South East Queensland is a region of the state of Queensland in Australia, which contains approximately two-thirds of the state population...
while the rest of the state maintains standard time
Standard time
Standard time is the result of synchronizing clocks in different geographical locations within a time zone to the same time rather than using the local meridian as in local mean time or solar time. Historically, this helped in the process of weather forecasting and train travel. The concept...
. The party contested the March 2009 Queensland State election
Queensland state election, 2009
The Queensland state election was held to elect members to the unicameral Parliament of Queensland on 21 March 2009. The election saw the incumbent Labor government led by Premier Anna Bligh defeat the Liberal National Party of Queensland led by Opposition Leader Lawrence Springborg, and gain a...
with 32 candidates and received around one percent of the state-wide primary vote, equating to around 2.5% across the 32 electorates contested.
On 14 April 2010, and after being approached by the Daylight Saving for South East Queensland (DS4SEQ)
Daylight Saving for South East Queensland
Daylight Saving for South East Queensland is a political party in Queensland, Australia. It is a single-issue party, run by volunteers, which advocates the implementation of a dual-time zone arrangement for Daylight Saving in South East Queensland while the remainder of the state maintains...
political party
Political party
A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...
, Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
Independent member Peter Wellington
Peter Wellington
Peter Wellington is an Independent member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly, for the Electoral district of Nicklin. Wellington, along with fellow independent Liz Cunningham, briefly held the balance in power following the 1998 state election...
, introduced the Daylight Saving for South East Queensland Referendum Bill 2010
Daylight Saving for South East Queensland Referendum Act 2010
The Daylight Saving for South East Queensland Referendum Bill 2010 was tabled in Queensland Parliament on 14 April 2010, by Queensland, Independent Member Peter Wellington. Wellington has called for a referendum to be held at the next State election on introduction of daylight saving time for...
into Queensland Parliament, calling for a referendum
Referendum
A referendum is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. This may result in the adoption of a new constitution, a constitutional amendment, a law, the recall of an elected official or simply a specific government policy. It is a form of...
to be held at the next State election on the introduction of daylight saving into South East Queensland
South East Queensland
South East Queensland is a region of the state of Queensland in Australia, which contains approximately two-thirds of the state population...
under a dual-time zone
Time zone
A time zone is a region on Earth that has a uniform standard time for legal, commercial, and social purposes. In order for the same clock time to always correspond to the same portion of the day as the Earth rotates , different places on the Earth need to have different clock times...
arrangement. The Bill was defeated in Queensland Parliament on 15 June 2011.
In Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
, four referendum
Referendum
A referendum is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. This may result in the adoption of a new constitution, a constitutional amendment, a law, the recall of an elected official or simply a specific government policy. It is a form of...
s in 1975, 1984, 1992 and 2009 have rejected DST.
In 2006, the Parliament of Western Australia
Parliament of Western Australia
The Parliament of Western Australia consists of the Legislative Council and the Legislative Assembly . The Parliament sits at Parliament House in Harvest Terrace, Perth....
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, and the WA Nationals
National Party of Western Australia
The National Party of Western Australia is a political party in Western Australia. It is affiliated with the National Party of Australia but maintains a separate structure and identity....
announced a public campaign to bring the referendum forward to 2007. The trial continued until the referendum, held on 16 May 2009. 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
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
, 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
Electoral region of East Metropolitan
The electoral region of East Metropolitan is a multi-member electoral region of the Western Australian Legislative Council, located in the eastern and south-eastern suburbs of Perth. It was created by the Acts Amendment Act 1987, and became effective on 22 May 1989 with five members who had been...
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.
The Northern Territory experimented with daylight saving in the early part of the 20th century. It was last used in 1944.
Fiji
FijiFiji
Fiji , officially the Republic of Fiji , is an island nation in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about northeast of New Zealand's North Island...
restarted DST in 2009 starting on November 29 and ending on April 26, 2010. For the 2010-2011 summer, DST starts on fourth Sunday in October and ends on last Sunday in March.
Hawaii
Because of HawaiiHawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
's tropical
Tropics
The tropics is a region of the Earth surrounding the Equator. It is limited in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the northern hemisphere at approximately N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the southern hemisphere at S; these latitudes correspond to the axial tilt of the Earth...
latitude, there is not a large variation in daylight length between winter and summer. Furthermore, most of the inhabited islands are located close to the west end of the Hawaii-Aleutian time zone
Hawaii-Aleutian time zone
The Hawaii-Aleutian Time Zone observes Hawaii-Aleutian Standard Time , by subtracting ten hours from Coordinated Universal Time . The clock time in this zone is based on the mean solar time of the 150th meridian west of the Greenwich Observatory....
, and Oahu
Oahu
Oahu or Oahu , known as "The Gathering Place", is the third largest of the Hawaiian Islands and most populous of the islands in the U.S. state of Hawaii. The state capital Honolulu is located on the southeast coast...
, Kauai
Kauai
Kauai or Kauai, known as Tauai in the ancient Kaua'i dialect, is geologically the oldest of the main Hawaiian Islands. With an area of , it is the fourth largest of the main islands in the Hawaiian archipelago, and the 21st largest island in the United States. Known also as the "Garden Isle",...
and Niihau
Niihau
Niihau or Niihau is the seventh largest of the inhabited Hawaiian Islands in the U.S. state of Hawaii, having an area of . Niihau lies southwest of Kauai across the Kaulakahi Channel. Several intermittent playa lakes provide wetland habitats for the Hawaiian Coot, the Black-winged Stilt, and the...
are located more than 7 degrees west of the Hawaii-Aleutian time zone
Hawaii-Aleutian time zone
The Hawaii-Aleutian Time Zone observes Hawaii-Aleutian Standard Time , by subtracting ten hours from Coordinated Universal Time . The clock time in this zone is based on the mean solar time of the 150th meridian west of the Greenwich Observatory....
's meridian
Meridian (geography)
A meridian is an imaginary line on the Earth's surface from the North Pole to the South Pole that connects all locations along it with a given longitude. The position of a point along the meridian is given by its latitude. Each meridian is perpendicular to all circles of latitude...
and should, theoretically, be located in the next time zone
Time zone
A time zone is a region on Earth that has a uniform standard time for legal, commercial, and social purposes. In order for the same clock time to always correspond to the same portion of the day as the Earth rotates , different places on the Earth need to have different clock times...
to the west. Therefore advancing the clock in Hawaii would make sunrise times close to 7:00 a.m. even in June.
Hawaii did experiment with DST for three weeks between April 30, 1933 and May 21, 1933; there are no known official records as to why it was implemented or discontinued. Hawaii has never observed daylight saving time under the Uniform Time Act
Uniform Time Act
The Uniform Time Act of 1966, , was a United States federal law to "promote the adoption and observance of uniform time within the standard time zones" prescribed by the Standard Time Act of 1918. Its intended effect was to simplify the official pattern of where and when daylight saving time is...
, having opted out of the Act's provisions in 1967.
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
Antarctic
The Antarctic is the region around the Earth's South Pole, opposite the Arctic region around the North Pole. The Antarctic comprises the continent of Antarctica and the ice shelves, waters and island territories in the Southern Ocean situated south of the Antarctic Convergence...
bases that are supplied from New Zealand. This results in the oddity that the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station
Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station
The Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station is the American scientific research station on the high plateau of Antarctica. This station is located at the southernmost place on the Earth, the Geographic South Pole, at an elevation of 2,835 meters above sea level.The original Amundsen-Scott Station was...
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.
The New Zealand dependencies of Cook Islands
Cook Islands
The Cook Islands is a self-governing parliamentary democracy in the South Pacific Ocean in free association with New Zealand...
, Tokelau
Tokelau
Tokelau is a territory of New Zealand in the South Pacific Ocean that consists of three tropical coral atolls with a combined land area of 10 km2 and a population of approximately 1,400...
and Niue
Niue
Niue , is an island country in the South Pacific Ocean. It is commonly known as the "Rock of Polynesia", and inhabitants of the island call it "the Rock" for short. Niue is northeast of New Zealand in a triangle between Tonga to the southwest, the Samoas to the northwest, and the Cook Islands to...
do not maintain DST. They are located the other side of the International Date Line
International Date Line
The International Date Line is a generally north-south imaginary line on the surface of the Earth, passing through the middle of the Pacific Ocean, that designates the place where each calendar day begins...
and have 21–23 hours time difference to New Zealand.
Samoa
SamoaSamoa
Samoa , officially the Independent State of Samoa, formerly known as Western Samoa is a country encompassing the western part of the Samoan Islands in the South Pacific Ocean. It became independent from New Zealand in 1962. The two main islands of Samoa are Upolu and one of the biggest islands in...
starts with DST in 2010, starting on the last Sunday in September and ending on first Sunday in April.
U.S. Territories
All U.S. insular territories with civilian government in Oceania, American SamoaAmerican Samoa
American Samoa is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of the sovereign state of Samoa...
, Guam
Guam
Guam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. Guam is listed as one of 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories by the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United...
, and the Northern Mariana Islands
Northern Mariana Islands
The Northern Mariana Islands, officially the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands , is a commonwealth in political union with the United States, occupying a strategic region of the western Pacific Ocean. It consists of 15 islands about three-quarters of the way from Hawaii to the Philippines...
lie in the tropics and do not observe DST.
Asia
DST is for 2011 used the following Asian countries:- ArmeniaArmeniaArmenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
- AzerbaijanAzerbaijanAzerbaijan , officially the Republic of Azerbaijan is the largest country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to...
- CyprusCyprusCyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
- IranIranIran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
- IsraelIsraelThe State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
- JordanJordanJordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...
- LebanonLebanonLebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
- Territories governed by the Palestinian National AuthorityPalestinian National AuthorityThe Palestinian Authority is the administrative organization established to govern parts of the West Bank and Gaza Strip...
- SyriaSyriaSyria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
- TurkeyTurkeyTurkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
Bangladesh
BangladeshBangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
introduced the use of a Daylight Saving Time (DST) in 2009 starting on 19 June 2009. Clocks were advanced by an hour making the local time seven hours ahead of UTC, i.e., UTC+7. Clocks were reverted back on 31 December 2009, thereby returning local time to UTC+6.
In 2010, DST would be used between 1 April and 31 October 2010, but it was cancelled.
China, People's Republic of
The People's Republic of ChinaPeople's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
experimented with DST from 1986, but abandoned DST from 1992 onwards. The PRC now uses one time zone (UTC+8) for the whole country.
India
The Republic of India used Daylight Saving Time (DST) briefly during wartime. Currently, India does not observe DST.Iran
Before 1979, DST was observed in Iran. Thereafter it was abandoned until 1989, when it started on the first day of FarvardinFarvardin
Farvardin is the first month of the Iranian civil calendar of 1925. Farvardin has 31 days and in 75 years of 100 years begins on 21 March and ends on 20 April. In 25 years, Farvardin begins on 19 or 22 March and ends on 18 or 21 April. Farvardin is the first month of spring, and is followed by...
(20–21 March) in the Iranian calendar
Iranian calendar
The Iranian calendars or sometimes called Persian calendars are a succession of calendars invented or used for over two millennia in Greater Iran...
and ended on the last day of Shahrivar
Shahrivar
Shahrivar is the 6th month of the Iranian civil calendar of 1925. Shahrivar has 31 days and begins on August and ends on September. Shahrivar is the 3rd month of summer....
(20–21 September). In the Spring of 2006, the government of Iran ceased observing DST. In September 2007, however, the Majlis
Majlis of Iran
The National Consultative Assembly of Iran , also called The Iranian Parliament or People's House, is the national legislative body of Iran...
(Iranian parliament) passed a law restoring daylight saving time beginning from the spring of 2008, despite opposition by the contemporary government.
Iraq
During 2003-07, IraqIraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
observed DST from the first Friday in April to the last Friday in September.
Iraq stopped observing DST since 2008.
Israel
IsraelIsrael
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
observes DST starting on the last Friday before April 2 and ending at 02:00 on the Sunday between Rosh Hashanah
Rosh Hashanah
Rosh Hashanah , , is the Jewish New Year. It is the first of the High Holy Days or Yamim Nora'im which occur in the autumn...
and Yom Kippur
Yom Kippur
Yom Kippur , also known as Day of Atonement, is the holiest and most solemn day of the year for the Jews. Its central themes are atonement and repentance. Jews traditionally observe this holy day with a 25-hour period of fasting and intensive prayer, often spending most of the day in synagogue...
. 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.
In territories controlled by the Palestinian National Authority
Palestinian National Authority
The Palestinian Authority is the administrative organization established to govern parts of the West Bank and Gaza Strip...
, DST ends later, which can lead to some confusion. On September 5, 1999, terrorists were transporting two bombs that they mistakenly thought were set to go off at 17:30 Israel Standard Time; they were actually set for 17:30 Palestinian Daylight Time, which was an hour ahead. As a result, the bombs went off while being transported, killing the terrorists.
Japan
From 1948-51, JapanJapan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
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
Hokkaido
, formerly known as Ezo, Yezo, Yeso, or Yesso, is Japan's second largest island; it is also the largest and northernmost of Japan's 47 prefectural-level subdivisions. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaido from Honshu, although the two islands are connected by the underwater railway Seikan Tunnel...
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
Global warming
Global warming refers to the rising average temperature of Earth's atmosphere and oceans and its projected continuation. In the last 100 years, Earth's average surface temperature increased by about with about two thirds of the increase occurring over just the last three decades...
. The former Japanese PM Shinzo Abe
Shinzo Abe
was the 90th Prime Minister of Japan, elected by a special session of the National Diet on 26 September 2006. He was Japan's youngest post–World War II prime minister and the first born after the war. Abe served as prime minister for nearly twelve months, before resigning on 12 September 2007...
made a significant effort to introduce daylight saving time, but was ultimately unsuccessful. 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
Osaka
is a city in the Kansai region of Japan's main island of Honshu, a designated city under the Local Autonomy Law, the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and also the biggest part of Keihanshin area, which is represented by three major cities of Japan, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe...
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.
Jordan
JordanJordan
Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...
UTC+2 observes daylight saving time from the last Friday of March to the last Friday of October.
Kazakhstan
KazakhstanKazakhstan
Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...
made a decision to stop observing DST in 2005, citing health complications as well as lowered productivity and a lack of economic benefits.
Kyrgyzstan
KyrgyzstanKyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan , officially the Kyrgyz Republic is one of the world's six independent Turkic states . Located in Central Asia, landlocked and mountainous, Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the southwest and China to the east...
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.
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.Malaysia
Malaysia used DST from January 1, 1933, but discontinued on December 31, 1981 to replace Malaysian Standard TimeMalaysian Standard Time
Malaysia Standard Time or Waktu Piawai Malaysia or Malaysia Time is a standard time used in Malaysia. It is 8 hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time and Coordinated Universal Time. The local mean time in Kuala Lumpur was originally GMT+06:46:48...
.
Pakistan
PakistanPakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
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 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. This had the counterintuitive effect of making Pakistan half an hour ahead of India, though Pakistan is generally located west of India. The government later extended the schedule to October 31, which also included the holy month of Ramadan, which began in early September. Pakistan used DST again in 2009 then abandoned the practice; as a result, Pakistan no longer uses DST.
Philippines
The PhilippinesPhilippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
experimented with DST for short periods during the presidencies of Corazon Aquino
Corazon Aquino
Maria Corazon Sumulong Cojuangco-Aquino was the 11th President of the Philippines and the first woman to hold that office in Philippine history. She is best remembered for leading the 1986 People Power Revolution, which toppled Ferdinand Marcos and restored democracy in the Philippines...
(1986 to 1992) and Fidel Ramos
Fidel V. Ramos
Fidel "Eddie" Valdez Ramos , popularly known as FVR, was the 12th President of the Philippines from 1992 to 1998. During his six years in office, Ramos was widely credited and admired by many for revitalizing and renewing international confidence in the Philippine economy.Prior to his election as...
(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.
South Korea
South KoreaSouth Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
observed DST from 1948-51, from 1955-60, and from 1987-88. South Korea does not currently observe DST.
Syria
SyriaSyria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
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 last Friday of October.
Taiwan
TaiwanTaiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
implemented DST from 1945-61, revoked DST from 1962-73, reinstated DST from 1974-75, revoked DST from 1976-79 and reinstated it in 1980. Taiwan abandoned DST from 1981 onwards.
No DST in Asia
These countries or regions do not use daylight saving time:- AfghanistanAfghanistanAfghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
- BahrainBahrain' , officially the Kingdom of Bahrain , is a small island state near the western shores of the Persian Gulf. It is ruled by the Al Khalifa royal family. The population in 2010 stood at 1,214,705, including 235,108 non-nationals. Formerly an emirate, Bahrain was declared a kingdom in 2002.Bahrain is...
- BhutanBhutanBhutan , officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked state in South Asia, located at the eastern end of the Himalayas and bordered to the south, east and west by the Republic of India and to the north by the People's Republic of China...
- BruneiBruneiBrunei , officially the State of Brunei Darussalam or the Nation of Brunei, the Abode of Peace , is a sovereign state located on the north coast of the island of Borneo, in Southeast Asia...
- CambodiaCambodiaCambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
- ChinaPeople's Republic of ChinaChina , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
- East TimorEast TimorThe Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, commonly known as East Timor , is a state in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the nearby islands of Atauro and Jaco, and Oecusse, an exclave on the northwestern side of the island, within Indonesian West Timor...
- GeorgiaGeorgia (country)Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
- Hong KongHong KongHong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
- IndiaIndiaIndia , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
- IndonesiaIndonesiaIndonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
- IraqIraqIraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
- JapanJapanJapan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
- KazakhstanKazakhstanKazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...
- KuwaitKuwaitThe State of Kuwait is a sovereign Arab state situated in the north-east of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south at Khafji, and Iraq to the north at Basra. It lies on the north-western shore of the Persian Gulf. The name Kuwait is derived from the...
- KyrgyzstanKyrgyzstanKyrgyzstan , officially the Kyrgyz Republic is one of the world's six independent Turkic states . Located in Central Asia, landlocked and mountainous, Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the southwest and China to the east...
- LaosLaosLaos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...
- MacauMacauMacau , also spelled Macao , is, along with Hong Kong, one of the two special administrative regions of the People's Republic of China...
(aka MacaoMaçãoMação is a municipality in Portugal with a total area of 400.0 km² and a total population of 7,763 inhabitants.The municipality is composed of eight parishes, and is located in the Santarém District....
) - MaldivesMaldivesThe Maldives , , officially Republic of Maldives , also referred to as the Maldive Islands, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean formed by a double chain of twenty-six atolls oriented north-south off India's Lakshadweep islands, between Minicoy Island and...
- Malaysia
- MongoliaMongoliaMongolia is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It is bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulan Bator, the capital and largest...
- MyanmarMyanmarBurma , officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar , is a country in Southeast Asia. Burma is bordered by China on the northeast, Laos on the east, Thailand on the southeast, Bangladesh on the west, India on the northwest, the Bay of Bengal to the southwest, and the Andaman Sea on the south....
(aka Burma) - NepalNepalNepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
- North KoreaNorth KoreaThe Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...
- OmanOmanOman , officially called the Sultanate of Oman , is an Arab state in southwest Asia on the southeast coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by the United Arab Emirates to the northwest, Saudi Arabia to the west, and Yemen to the southwest. The coast is formed by the Arabian Sea on the...
- PakistanPakistanPakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
- Papua New GuineaPapua New GuineaPapua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...
- PhilippinesPhilippinesThe Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
- QatarQatarQatar , also known as the State of Qatar or locally Dawlat Qaṭar, is a sovereign Arab state, located in the Middle East, occupying the small Qatar Peninsula on the northeasterly coast of the much larger Arabian Peninsula. Its sole land border is with Saudi Arabia to the south, with the rest of its...
- Saudi ArabiaSaudi ArabiaThe Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
- SingaporeSingaporeSingapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
- South KoreaSouth KoreaThe Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
- TaiwanTaiwanTaiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
- TajikistanTajikistanTajikistan , officially the Republic of Tajikistan , is a mountainous landlocked country in Central Asia. Afghanistan borders it to the south, Uzbekistan to the west, Kyrgyzstan to the north, and China to the east....
- ThailandThailandThailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
- TurkmenistanTurkmenistanTurkmenistan , formerly also known as Turkmenia is one of the Turkic states in Central Asia. Until 1991, it was a constituent republic of the Soviet Union, the Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic . Turkmenistan is one of the six independent Turkic states...
- United Arab EmiratesUnited Arab EmiratesThe United Arab Emirates, abbreviated as the UAE, or shortened to "the Emirates", is a state situated in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia on the Persian Gulf, bordering Oman, and Saudi Arabia, and sharing sea borders with Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Iran.The UAE is a...
- UzbekistanUzbekistanUzbekistan , officially the Republic of Uzbekistan is a doubly landlocked country in Central Asia and one of the six independent Turkic states. It shares borders with Kazakhstan to the west and to the north, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to the east, and Afghanistan and Turkmenistan to the south....
- VietnamVietnamVietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
- YemenYemenThe Republic of Yemen , commonly known as Yemen , is a country located in the Middle East, occupying the southwestern to southern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the north, the Red Sea to the west, and Oman to the east....
In general
All countries in EuropeEurope
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
except Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
, Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
, and Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
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. 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. See also: European Summer Time
European Summer Time
European Summer Time is the arrangement in Europe by which clocks are advanced by one hour in spring to make the most of seasonal daylight. This is done in all of the countries of Europe except Iceland which observes Greenwich Mean Time all year round, and Russia, which has two time zones in...
and British Summer Time
British Summer Time
Western European Summer Time is a summer daylight saving time scheme, 1 hour ahead of Coordinated Universal Time. It is used in the following places:* the Canary Islands* Portugal * Ireland...
which includes a description of Double Summer Time.
Before 1996, DST ended on the last Sunday in September in most European countries; however in the United Kingdom and Ireland DST ended on the fourth (which some years is not the last) Sunday in October.
Bulgaria
DST was introduced in Bulgaria in 1979 by a regulation of the Bulgarian Council of Ministers. Bulgaria observes the European Union rules for DST.Denmark
Although DST has been observed in DenmarkDenmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. 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.
Hungary
DST was introduced in Hungary first in 1916 and it was observed until 1919. After that DST was in use between 1941-1949 and 1954-1957. DST has been in use again since 1980.Italy
In its history Italy adopted DST several times on and off, beginning in 1916 till 1920, then again between 1944 and 1948 during and after WWII. A law approved in 1965, and entered into force the following year, made the application of DST mandatory in the whole country. Since 1996 DST is coordinated with the European Union .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 (2010) Norway follows the European Union in this matter.
Portugal
In Portugal, DST (locally known by "Hora de Verão" (summer-time)) was introduced in 1916. In the years 1922, 1923, 1925, 1930, 1933 and from 1967 to 1975 the DST was not applied.For many years the official hour in the Madeira Islands was Lisbon hour -1 and in the Azores Islands was Lisbon hour -2.
Today, in the Madeira Islands the official hour is the same of Lisbon and in the Azores Islands is Lisbon hour -1.
Romania
DST was originally introduced in RomaniaRomania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
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
European Summer Time
European Summer Time is the arrangement in Europe by which clocks are advanced by one hour in spring to make the most of seasonal daylight. This is done in all of the countries of Europe except Iceland which observes Greenwich Mean Time all year round, and Russia, which has two time zones in...
.
Russia
In RussiaRussia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, daylight saving time was originally introduced on July 1, 1917 by a decree of the Russian Provisional Government
Russian Provisional Government
The Russian Provisional Government was the short-lived administrative body which sought to govern Russia immediately following the abdication of Tsar Nicholas II . On September 14, the State Duma of the Russian Empire was officially dissolved by the newly created Directorate, and the country was...
, and clocks were moved one hour forward. It was abandoned by a Decree
Soviet Decrees
Decrees were legislative acts of the highest Soviet institutions, primarily of the Council of People's Commissars and of the Supreme Soviet or VTsIK , issued between 1917 and 1924...
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 continued into post-Soviet times. The changeover dates in Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
were the same as for other European countries, but clocks were 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 commenced at 23:00 UTC on the day before the last Sunday in March, and ended 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).
On February 8, 2011, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev
Dmitry Medvedev
Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev is the third President of the Russian Federation.Born to a family of academics, Medvedev graduated from the Law Department of Leningrad State University in 1987. He defended his dissertation in 1990 and worked as a docent at his alma mater, now renamed to Saint...
announced the cancellation of DST in Russia. An hour was added in March 2011 for the last time, and clocks will not move back again in the fall. It may be noted that after this reform many Russian cities have a standard time two hours more than would be suggested by their locations.
Slovakia
In former Czechoslovakia Daylight Saving Time (locally known as "Letný čas") was with occasional breaks introduced in early 40's. The annual summer time, however, was only implemented in 1979. After several years, Slovakia has established the rule that summer time begins the last weekend of March (the night from Saturday to Sunday) and ending on the last weekend of September. Since 1996, daylight saving time has been prolonged about one month by means that DST lasts until the last weekend in October.Slovenia
Slovenia introduced DST (locally known as "Poletni čas") on 16.11.1982 when it was one of the Yugoslavia republics. Same law was valid until 1996 when the end of DST was changed from first Sunday in October to last Sunday in October. In 2006, the European Union standard was adopted and is still used today.Sweden
In SwedenSweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
daylight saving time was originally introduced on May 15, 1916. It proved unpopular at the time, and on September 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 Day 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.
Switzerland
The last country in Europe to adopt DST in 1981 was Switzerland, because of the stiff opposition of the influential Swiss farmers' lobby, who repeatedly stalled attempts by the Federal Assembly to legislate on the matter, and subsequently sponsored referendums to abrogate it. Since 1996 Swiss DST follows EU regulations.Turkey
DST (also locally known by the expression "summer-time") was introduced in TurkeyTurkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
in 1947, but suspended from 1965 through 1972. Since 1974, Turkey follows European Summer Time.
In 2008, the Turkish Ministry of Energy proposed that Turkey should abolish daylight saving time while at the same time switching to GMT +2.5, originally from 2009 onwards, but when this appeared infeasible, to start in 2011. The plan has not been heard of since.
For the year 2011, Turkey switched to European Summer Time at 3:00 am in the night from Sunday March 27 to Monday March 28, one day later than the rest of Europe, to avoid disrupting the national university-entrance examinations held on March 27.
Ukraine
DST (also locally known by the expression "summer-time") was introduced in UkraineUkraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
in 1981.
European Countries Without DST
These countries or regions do not use daylight saving time:- BelarusBelarusBelarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
, ended its last DST switching after moving the clocks forward in Spring 2011, and is now observing UTC+03:00 all year round.
- IcelandIcelandIceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
, 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.
- RussiaRussiaRussia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, ended its last DST switching after moving the clocks forward in Spring 2011, and is now observing the time that formerly was DST, all year round. Many areas have its time two hours ahead of the mean solar time. Moscow has UTC+04:00.
Africa
The only African countries and regions which use daylight saving time are:- Canary IslandsCanary IslandsThe Canary Islands , also known as the Canaries , is a Spanish archipelago located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100 km west of the border between Morocco and the Western Sahara. The Canaries are a Spanish autonomous community and an outermost region of the European Union...
, CeutaCeutaCeuta is an autonomous city of Spain and an exclave located on the north coast of North Africa surrounded by Morocco. Separated from the Iberian peninsula by the Strait of Gibraltar, Ceuta lies on the border of the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. Ceuta along with the other Spanish...
and MelillaMelillaMelilla is a autonomous city of Spain and an exclave on the north coast of Morocco. Melilla, along with the Spanish exclave Ceuta, is one of the two Spanish territories located in mainland Africa...
(SpainSpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
) From the last Sunday in March to the last Sunday in October and UTC+1. - MadeiraMadeiraMadeira is a Portuguese archipelago that lies between and , just under 400 km north of Tenerife, Canary Islands, in the north Atlantic Ocean and an outermost region of the European Union...
(PortugalPortugalPortugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
) From the last Sunday in March to the last Sunday in October and UTC. - MoroccoMoroccoMorocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
From 31st of July to 2nd of April and UTC+1. - NamibiaNamibiaNamibia, officially the Republic of Namibia , is a country in southern Africa whose western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and east. It gained independence from South Africa on 21 March...
From the first Sunday in September to the first Sunday in April and UTC+2.
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
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
normally observed daylight saving time between the last Thursday in April and the last Thursday in September when the clocks were three hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time (UTC+3
UTC+3
UTC+03:00 is an identifier for a time offset from UTC of +03. In ISO 8601 the associated time would be written as . This time is used in:-East Africa Time:*Comoros*Djibouti*Eritrea*Ethiopia*Kenya*Madagascar...
). The change was at midnight (local time); i.e. on the last Thursday of April, one second after 23:59:59 became 1:00:00 on Friday. Daylight saving time ended on the last Thursday of September; on that Thursday, one second after 23:59:59 became 23:00:00. The date did not change when the first 00:00 midnight occurred; for all practical purposes, midnight did not occur until after the second 23:59:59. An exception was made for Ramadan
Ramadan
Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, which lasts 29 or 30 days. It is the Islamic month of fasting, in which participating Muslims refrain from eating, drinking, smoking and sex during daylight hours and is intended to teach Muslims about patience, spirituality, humility and...
; in 2006 the end of DST took place one week earlier, on September 21, 2006, which took place before the start of the holy month of Ramadan
Ramadan
Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, which lasts 29 or 30 days. It is the Islamic month of fasting, in which participating Muslims refrain from eating, drinking, smoking and sex during daylight hours and is intended to teach Muslims about patience, spirituality, humility and...
. The same practice recurred in 2007 and 2008, to avoid having longer days in Ramadan. In 2009, summer time ended on Thursday, August 20, 5 weeks before the nominal end on the last Thursday in September. In 2010, the DST started on April 30, and ended on October 1, but between August 6 and September 10, DST was cancelled because of Ramadan
Ramadan
Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, which lasts 29 or 30 days. It is the Islamic month of fasting, in which participating Muslims refrain from eating, drinking, smoking and sex during daylight hours and is intended to teach Muslims about patience, spirituality, humility and...
. The previous government was planning to take a decision to abolish it in 2011 before the revolution. The transitional government abolished the daylight saving time on April 20, 2011.
Mauritius
Mauritius's DST period started on the last Sunday in October, and ended on the last Sunday in March.Mauritius did not repeat DST since 2009.
Morocco
In 2011, DST began on the 2nd of April at midnight and ended at midnight on the 31st of July.For the year 2008, DST began on June 1, and ended on September 1. This was the first time Morocco had used daylight saving time since 1978. In 2009, DST began on June 1 and ended on August 21. In 2010, DST starts on May 2 and ends on August 8, just before Ramadan, as has been the case in recent years.
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.Countries not using DST in Africa
These countries or regions do not use daylight saving time, although some have in the past:- AlgeriaAlgeriaAlgeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
- AngolaAngolaAngola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...
- BeninBeninBenin , officially the Republic of Benin, is a country in West Africa. It borders Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east and Burkina Faso and Niger to the north. Its small southern coastline on the Bight of Benin is where a majority of the population is located...
- BotswanaBotswanaBotswana, officially the Republic of Botswana , is a landlocked country located in Southern Africa. The citizens are referred to as "Batswana" . Formerly the British protectorate of Bechuanaland, Botswana adopted its new name after becoming independent within the Commonwealth on 30 September 1966...
- Burkina FasoBurkina FasoBurkina Faso – also known by its short-form name Burkina – is a landlocked country in west Africa. It is surrounded by six countries: Mali to the north, Niger to the east, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the south, and Côte d'Ivoire to the southwest.Its size is with an estimated...
- BurundiBurundiBurundi , officially the Republic of Burundi , is a landlocked country in the Great Lakes region of Eastern Africa bordered by Rwanda to the north, Tanzania to the east and south, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west. Its capital is Bujumbura...
- CameroonCameroonCameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon , is a country in west Central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west; Chad to the northeast; the Central African Republic to the east; and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo to the south. Cameroon's coastline lies on the...
- Cape VerdeCape VerdeThe Republic of Cape Verde is an island country, spanning an archipelago of 10 islands located in the central Atlantic Ocean, 570 kilometres off the coast of Western Africa...
- Central African RepublicCentral African RepublicThe Central African Republic , is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It borders Chad in the north, Sudan in the north east, South Sudan in the east, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of the Congo in the south, and Cameroon in the west. The CAR covers a land area of about ,...
- ChadChadChad , officially known as the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic to the south, Cameroon and Nigeria to the southwest, and Niger to the west...
- ComorosComorosThe Comoros , officially the Union of the Comoros is an archipelago island nation in the Indian Ocean, located off the eastern coast of Africa, on the northern end of the Mozambique Channel, between northeastern Mozambique and northwestern Madagascar...
- Democratic Republic of Congo
- DjiboutiDjiboutiDjibouti , officially the Republic of Djibouti , is a country in the Horn of Africa. It is bordered by Eritrea in the north, Ethiopia in the west and south, and Somalia in the southeast. The remainder of the border is formed by the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden at the east...
- EgyptEgyptEgypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
- Equatorial GuineaEquatorial GuineaEquatorial Guinea, officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea where the capital Malabo is situated.Annobón is the southernmost island of Equatorial Guinea and is situated just south of the equator. Bioko island is the northernmost point of Equatorial Guinea. Between the two islands and to the...
- EritreaEritreaEritrea , officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa. Eritrea derives it's name from the Greek word Erethria, meaning 'red land'. The capital is Asmara. It is bordered by Sudan in the west, Ethiopia in the south, and Djibouti in the southeast...
- EthiopiaEthiopiaEthiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
- GabonGabonGabon , officially the Gabonese Republic is a state in west central Africa sharing borders with Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north, and with the Republic of the Congo curving around the east and south. The Gulf of Guinea, an arm of the Atlantic Ocean is to the west...
- Gambia
- GhanaGhanaGhana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...
- GuineaGuineaGuinea , officially the Republic of Guinea , is a country in West Africa. Formerly known as French Guinea , it is today sometimes called Guinea-Conakry to distinguish it from its neighbour Guinea-Bissau. Guinea is divided into eight administrative regions and subdivided into thirty-three prefectures...
- Guinea-BissauGuinea-BissauThe Republic of Guinea-Bissau is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Senegal to the north, and Guinea to the south and east, with the Atlantic Ocean to its west....
- Ivory Coast
- KenyaKenyaKenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
- LesothoLesothoLesotho , officially the Kingdom of Lesotho, is a landlocked country and enclave, surrounded by the Republic of South Africa. It is just over in size with a population of approximately 2,067,000. Its capital and largest city is Maseru. Lesotho is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. The name...
- LiberiaLiberiaLiberia , officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Sierra Leone on the west, Guinea on the north and Côte d'Ivoire on the east. Liberia's coastline is composed of mostly mangrove forests while the more sparsely populated inland consists of forests that open...
- LibyaLibyaLibya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....
- MadagascarMadagascarThe Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...
- MalawiMalawiThe Republic of Malawi is a landlocked country in southeast Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the northwest, Tanzania to the northeast, and Mozambique on the east, south and west. The country is separated from Tanzania and Mozambique by Lake Malawi. Its size...
- MaliMaliMali , officially the Republic of Mali , is a landlocked country in Western Africa. Mali borders Algeria on the north, Niger on the east, Burkina Faso and the Côte d'Ivoire on the south, Guinea on the south-west, and Senegal and Mauritania on the west. Its size is just over 1,240,000 km² with...
- MauritaniaMauritaniaMauritania is a country in the Maghreb and West Africa. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean in the west, by Western Sahara in the north, by Algeria in the northeast, by Mali in the east and southeast, and by Senegal in the southwest...
- MauritiusMauritiusMauritius , officially the Republic of Mauritius is an island nation off the southeast coast of the African continent in the southwest Indian Ocean, about east of Madagascar...
- MayotteMayotteMayotte is an overseas department and region of France consisting of a main island, Grande-Terre , a smaller island, Petite-Terre , and several islets around these two. The archipelago is located in the northern Mozambique Channel in the Indian Ocean, namely between northwestern Madagascar and...
- NigerNigerNiger , officially named the Republic of Niger, is a landlocked country in Western Africa, named after the Niger River. It borders Nigeria and Benin to the south, Burkina Faso and Mali to the west, Algeria and Libya to the north and Chad to the east...
- NigeriaNigeriaNigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
- Republic of the CongoRepublic of the CongoThe Republic of the Congo , sometimes known locally as Congo-Brazzaville, is a state in Central Africa. It is bordered by Gabon, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo , the Angolan exclave province of Cabinda, and the Gulf of Guinea.The region was dominated by...
- RwandaRwandaRwanda or , officially the Republic of Rwanda , is a country in central and eastern Africa with a population of approximately 11.4 million . Rwanda is located a few degrees south of the Equator, and is bordered by Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo...
- Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da CunhaSaint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da CunhaSaint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha is a British overseas territory and overseas territory of the European Union consisting of the islands of Saint Helena, Ascension Island and the Tristan da Cunha group...
- São Tomé and PríncipeSão Tomé and PríncipeSão Tomé and Príncipe, officially the Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe, is a Portuguese-speaking island nation in the Gulf of Guinea, off the western equatorial coast of Central Africa. It consists of two islands: São Tomé and Príncipe, located about apart and about , respectively, off...
- SenegalSenegalSenegal , officially the Republic of Senegal , is a country in western Africa. It owes its name to the Sénégal River that borders it to the east and north...
- SeychellesSeychellesSeychelles , officially the Republic of Seychelles , is an island country spanning an archipelago of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean, some east of mainland Africa, northeast of the island of Madagascar....
- Sierra LeoneSierra LeoneSierra Leone , officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea to the north and east, Liberia to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west and southwest. Sierra Leone covers a total area of and has an estimated population between 5.4 and 6.4...
- South AfricaSouth AfricaThe Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
- South SudanSouth SudanSouth Sudan , officially the Republic of South Sudan, is a landlocked country located in the Sahel region of northeastern Africa. It is also part of the North Africa UN sub-region. Its current capital is Juba, which is also its largest city; the capital city is planned to be moved to the more...
- SudanSudanSudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...
- SwazilandSwazilandSwaziland, officially the Kingdom of Swaziland , and sometimes called Ngwane or Swatini, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa, bordered to the north, south and west by South Africa, and to the east by Mozambique...
- TanzaniaTanzaniaThe United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...
- TogoTogoTogo, officially the Togolese Republic , is a country in West Africa bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, on which the capital Lomé is located. Togo covers an area of approximately with a population of approximately...
- TunisiaTunisiaTunisia , officially the Tunisian RepublicThe long name of Tunisia in other languages used in the country is: , is the northernmost country in Africa. It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area...
- UgandaUgandaUganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...
- ZambiaZambiaZambia , officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. The neighbouring countries are the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia to the south, and Angola to the west....
- ZimbabweZimbabweZimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...
North America
North AmericaNorth America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
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
Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada. Situated in the country's Atlantic region, it incorporates the island of Newfoundland and mainland Labrador with a combined area of . As of April 2011, the province's estimated population is 508,400...
is an exception in that the time changes take place at 00:01 local standard time and 00:01 local daylight time respectively. Also, in 1988, they experimented with double daylight saving time, when the clocks went ahead by two hours, instead of the usual one hour.
Barbados
BarbadosBarbados
Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles. It is in length and as much as in width, amounting to . It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about east of the islands of Saint...
in the western Atlantic no longer observes Daylight Saving Time, like many Caribbean nations. The last observance of a daylight savings related time clock adjustment was between Sunday, 20 April 1980 at 2:00 AM – Thursday, 25 September 1980 at 2:00 AM. On 25 September the clock was shifted -3:00 – -4:00 where it has remained since.
Canada
In CanadaCanada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, 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
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....
) changed their time legislation to match. Since 2007, DST in Canada 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. 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').
British Columbia
Most of British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
(BC) is on Pacific Time
Pacific Time Zone
The Pacific Time Zone observes standard time by subtracting eight hours from Coordinated Universal Time . The clock time in this zone is based on the mean solar time of the 120th meridian west of the Greenwich Observatory. During daylight saving time, its time offset is UTC-7.In the United States...
and observes DST. However there are two main exceptions:
Part of the Peace River Regional District of BC (including the communities of Chetwynd
Chetwynd, British Columbia
The District of Chetwynd is a town located on the foothills of the Rocky Mountains in northeastern British Columbia, Canada. Situated on an ancient floodplain, it is the first town eastbound travellers encounter after emerging from the Rockies along Highway 97 and acts as the gateway to the Peace...
, Dawson Creek
Dawson Creek, British Columbia
Dawson Creek is a small city in northeastern British Columbia, Canada. The municipality of had a population of 11,529 in 2009. Dawson Creek derives its name from the creek of the same name that runs through the community. The creek was named after George Mercer Dawson by a member of his land...
, Hudson's Hope
Hudson's Hope, British Columbia
Hudson's Hope is a district municipality in northeastern British Columbia, Canada, in the Peace River Regional District. It covers an area of with a population of 1,157 people. Having been first settled in 1805, it is the third oldest community in the province, although it was not incorporated...
, Fort St. John
Fort St. John, British Columbia
The City of Fort St. John is a city in northeastern British Columbia, Canada. A member municipality of the Peace River Regional District, the city covers an area of about 22 km² with 22,000 residents . Located at Mile 47, it is one of the largest cities along the Alaska Highway. Originally...
, Taylor
Taylor, British Columbia
The District of Taylor is a small town in northeastern British Columbia, Canada, located on mile 36 of the Alaska Highway. Taylor, a member municipality of the Peace River Regional District, covers an area of about 17 km² with 1,380 residents. As it is just south of the much larger city of...
and Tumbler Ridge
Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia
The District Municipality of Tumbler Ridge is a small town in the foothills of the Canadian Rockies in northeastern British Columbia, Canada, and a member municipality of the Peace River Regional District. The municipality of , with its population of 2,454 people, incorporates a townsite and a...
) is on Mountain Time and does not observe DST. This means that the region would be on the same time as Mountain Time in the winter, and Pacific Time in the summer.
The East Kootenay region of south-eastern BC (including the communities of Cranbrook
Cranbrook, British Columbia
Cranbrook, British Columbia is a city in southeast British Columbia, located on the west side of the Kootenay River at its confluence with the St. Mary's River, It is the largest urban centre in the region known as the East Kootenay. As of 2006, Cranbrook's population is 18,267, and the...
, Fernie
Fernie, British Columbia
Fernie is a city in the Elk Valley area of the East Kootenay region of southeastern British Columbia, Canada, located on BC Highway 3 on the eastern approaches to the Crowsnest Pass through the Rocky Mountains...
, Golden
Golden, British Columbia
Golden is a town in southeastern British Columbia, Canada, located west of Calgary, Alberta and east of Vancouver.-History:Much of the town's history is tied into the Canadian Pacific Railway and the logging industry...
and Invermere
Invermere, British Columbia
Invermere is a community in eastern British Columbia, Canada, near the border of Alberta. With its growing permanent population of almost 4,000 , swelling to near 40,000 on summer weekends, it is the hub of the Columbia Valley between Golden, and Cranbrook...
) is on Mountain Time and observes DST. This means that the region is always on the same time as Edmonton
Edmonton
Edmonton is the capital of the Canadian province of Alberta and is the province's second-largest city. Edmonton is located on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Capital Region, which is surrounded by the central region of the province.The city and its census...
, Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
. 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.
Nunavut
While the rest of Nunavut
Nunavut
Nunavut is the largest and newest federal territory of Canada; it was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the Nunavut Act and the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement Act, though the actual boundaries had been established in 1993...
observes DST, Southampton Island
Southampton Island
Southampton Island is a large island at the entrance to Hudson Bay at Foxe Basin. One of the larger members of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, Southampton Island is part of the Kivalliq Region in Nunavut, Canada. The area of the island is stated as by Statistics Canada . It is the 34th largest...
including Coral Harbour
Coral Harbour, Nunavut
Coral Harbour , is a small Inuit community that is located on Southampton Island, Kivalliq Region, in the Canadian territory of Nunavut. Its name is derived from the fossilized coral that can be found around the waters of the community which is situated at the head of South Bay...
remain on Eastern Standard Time throughout the year.
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.)
Quebec
Most of Quebec observes DST. However, the eastern reaches of Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
's North Shore
Côte-Nord
Côte-Nord is the second largest administrative region by land area in Quebec, Canada, after Nord-du-Québec...
, east of 63° west longitude
63rd meridian west
The meridian 63° west of Greenwich is a line of longitude that extends from the North Pole across the Arctic Ocean, Greenland, North America, the Atlantic Ocean, South America, the Southern Ocean, and Antarctica to the South Pole....
, 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 November, 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
Natashquan River
The Natashquan is a river in the Canadian provinces of Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador. It has its source just south of the boundary between the Atlantic and Saint Lawrence watersheds. It flows south-east to the Labrador–Quebec border from where it flows southward...
. Those communities observe DST, including all of Anticosti Island
Anticosti Island
Anticosti Island is an island at the outlet of the Saint Lawrence River into the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, in Quebec, Canada, between 49° and 50° N., and between 61° 40' and 64° 30' W. At in size, it is the 90th largest island in the world and 20th largest island in Canada...
, which is bisected by the 63rd meridian.
Saskatchewan
Although the entire province is geographically within the MST (UTC-7
UTC-7
thumb|300px|UTC−07: Blue , Orange , Yellow , Light Blue - Sea areasUTC−07:00 is an identifier for a time offset from UTC of −07....
) zone, the province is officially part of the Central time zone (UTC-6
UTC-6
UTC−06 is an identifier for a time offset from UTC of −06. This time is used in:-Central America:*Belize*Costa Rica*El Salvador*Guatemala*Honduras*Nicaragua-Central Standard Time:...
) but does not observe Daylight Saving Time. This time zone designation was implemented in 1966, when the Saskatchewan Time Act was passed in order to standardize time province-wide.
The charter of the city of Lloydminster
Lloydminster
Lloydminster is a Canadian city which has the unusual geographic distinction of straddling the provincial border between Alberta and Saskatchewan...
, which is bisected by the Saskatchewan–Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
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. Along the Manitoba
Manitoba
Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...
border, the small, remote Saskatchewan towns of Denare Beach
Denare Beach, Saskatchewan
Denare Beach is a community on the east shore of Amisk Lake, Saskatchewan.It has a permanent population of about 770. This doubles in the summer when cabin owners return.-History:...
and Creighton
Creighton, Saskatchewan
Creighton, Saskatchewan was named after Thomas Creighton. It had a 2006 census population of 1,502 inhabitants, down 3.47% from 1,556 inhabitants in 2001.The town lies beside the Saskatchewan-Manitoba border, adjacent to Flin Flon, Manitoba...
unofficially observe DST in the central time zone, thereby keeping the same time as larger neighboring Manitoba communities.
Cuba
Cuba normally observes DST from March to October although the precise dates vary. For two years in the mid-2000s, Cuba stayed on DST throughout the year. In 2009 it was on DST from the second Sunday in March to the last Sunday of October. In 2011, it was be on DST from the third Sunday in March to the second sunday in November.Dominica
Dominica in the Caribbean does not observe Daylight Saving Time, like several other Caribbean nations.Greenland
GreenlandGreenland
Greenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...
(excluding two minor areas at Danmarkshavn
Danmarkshavn
Danmarkshavn is a small weather station located in the Northeast Greenland National Park, in Greenland. The permanent population of the base is 8. Danmarkshavn is also known as the northernmost location on the coast of Greenland Sea that non-icebreaking vessels can pass through...
and Pituffik
Pituffik
Pituffik is a former settlement in northern Greenland, located at the current site of the American Thule Air Base. The former inhabitants were relocated to the present-day town of Qaanaaq...
) 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 populated places in the country are in the UTC-3 zone in the winter (UTC-2 in the summer).
Mexico
MexicoMexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
adopted DST nationwide in 1996, even in its tropical regions, because of its increasing economic ties to the United States. Although the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
has changed the schedule for DST beginning in 2007, most of Mexico did not go 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 referred to as the "Summer Schedule" (Horario de Verano).
In December 2009, the Mexican Congress gave permission to ten northern border cities to synchronize their time to that of their US counterparts, resulting in these cities joining and leaving DST at the same time as the United States, relieving some border problems and confusion.
Matamoros, Tamaulipas
Matamoros, Tamaulipas
Matamoros, officially known as Heroica Matamoros, is a city in the northeastern part of Tamaulipas, in the country of Mexico. It is located on the southern bank of the Rio Grande, directly across the border from Brownsville, Texas, in the United States. Matamoros is the second largest and second...
Reynosa, Tamaulipas
Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas
Nuevo Laredo
Nuevo Laredo is a city located in the Municipality of Nuevo Laredo in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas. The city lies on the banks of the Río Grande, across from the United States city of Laredo, Texas. The 2010 census population of the city was 373,725. Nuevo Laredo is part of the Laredo-Nuevo...
Anáhuac, Nuevo León
Anáhuac, Nuevo León
Anáhuac is a city and municipality in the Mexican state of Nuevo León. The city of Anáhuac was founded on May 5, 1933, inside the municipal jurisdiction of Lampazos de Naranjo, Nuevo León, as the political head of the National System of Irrigation No.04 . On May 29, 1935, this city was declared a...
Acuña, Coahuila
Ciudad Acuña
Ciudad Acuña, also known simply as Acuña, is a city located in the Mexican state of Coahuila, at and a mean height above sea level of 271 meters...
Piedras Negras, Coahuila
Piedras Negras, Coahuila
-Natural Resources:This region generates a large amount of the national production of coal, one of the most economically important non-metallic minerals in the state.-Tourism:Piedras Negras' main tourist attractions are:...
Ojinaga, Chihuahua
Ojinaga
Ojinaga Municipality is one of the 67 municipalities of Chihuahua, in northern Mexico. The municipal seat lies at Ojinaga, a rural bordertown on the U.S.-Mexico border...
Juárez, Chihuahua
Ciudad Juárez
Ciudad Juárez , officially known today as Heroica Ciudad Juárez, but abbreviated Juárez and formerly known as El Paso del Norte, is a city and seat of the municipality of Juárez in the Mexican state of Chihuahua. Juárez's estimated population is 1.5 million people. The city lies on the Rio Grande...
Mexicali, Baja California
Mexicali
Mexicali is the capital of the State of Baja California, seat of the Municipality of Mexicali, and 2nd largest city in Baja California. The City of Mexicali has a population of 689,775, according to the 2010 census, while the population of the entire metropolitan area reaches 936,826.The city...
Tijuana, Baja California
Tijuana
Tijuana is the largest city on the Baja California Peninsula and center of the Tijuana metropolitan area, part of the international San Diego–Tijuana metropolitan area. An industrial and financial center of Mexico, Tijuana exerts a strong influence on economics, education, culture, art, and politics...
Baja California
The state of Baja California
Baja California
Baja California officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is both the northernmost and westernmost state of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1953, the area was known as the North...
has observed daylight saving time from several decades ago and until 1996 was the only Mexican state to observe it. Since 2010 it follows the extended schedule (beginning second Sunday of March, ending first Sunday of November) that has been used in the United States; this is mainly due to its close economic ties with the US
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
state of California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. The rest of Mexico will continue to use the old USA/Canada DST schedule (beginning first Sunday of April, ending last Sunday of October).
Sonora
The state of Sonora
Sonora
Sonora officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 72 municipalities; the capital city is Hermosillo....
has not observed DST since 1998 because of the non-observance of DST by its neighbor Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
and its important economic ties with the US state.
Island territories
The Marías Islands and the Revillagigedo Archipelago do not observe DST. The westernmost island of the Revillagigedo Archipelago, Clarion Island
Clarion Island
Isla Clarión, formerly called Santa Rosa, is the second largest, westernmost and most remote of the Revillagigedo Islands, west of Socorro Island and over from the Mexican mainland and an area ². It has three prominent peaks. The westernmost and tallest peak, Monte Gallegos, is high...
, uses UTC-8 (PST) all the time; thus, during DST, Mexico has 4 different time zones.
United States of America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
currently observe daylight saving time. The exceptions are Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
, Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
, and the territories of Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
, the U.S. Virgin Islands
United States Virgin Islands
The Virgin Islands of the United States are a group of islands in the Caribbean that are an insular area of the United States. The islands are geographically part of the Virgin Islands archipelago and are located in the Leeward Islands of the Lesser Antilles.The U.S...
, American Samoa
American Samoa
American Samoa is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of the sovereign state of Samoa...
, Guam
Guam
Guam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. Guam is listed as one of 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories by the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United...
, and the Northern Mariana Islands
Northern Mariana Islands
The Northern Mariana Islands, officially the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands , is a commonwealth in political union with the United States, occupying a strategic region of the western Pacific Ocean. It consists of 15 islands about three-quarters of the way from Hawaii to the Philippines...
. In Arizona, the Navajo Nation
Navajo Nation
The Navajo Nation is a semi-autonomous Native American-governed territory covering , occupying all of northeastern Arizona, the southeastern portion of Utah, and northwestern New Mexico...
observes daylight saving time.
From 1987 to 2006, daylight saving time in the United States began on the first Sunday of April and ended on the last Sunday of October. The time is adjusted at 2:00 a.m. (02:00) local time.
By the Energy Policy Act of 2005
Energy Policy Act of 2005
The Energy Policy Act of 2005 is a bill passed by the United States Congress on July 29, 2005, and signed into law by President George W. Bush on August 8, 2005, at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, New Mexico...
, daylight saving time (DST) was extended in the United States beginning in 2007. DST currently starts on the second Sunday of March, which is three or four weeks earlier than in the past, and it ends on the first Sunday of November, one week later than in years past. The time is adjusted at 2:00 a.m. (02:00) local time. 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.
Recent daylight saving time start and end dates are:
| Year | DST Starts | DST Ends |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | March 14 | November 7 |
| 2011 | March 13 | November 6 |
| 2012 | March 11 | November 4 |
| 2013 | March 10 | November 3 |
Time zones within the United States are:
| Time Zone | Standard Time | Daylight Saving Time |
|---|---|---|
| Eastern Time Zone Eastern Time Zone The Eastern Time Zone of the United States and Canada is a time zone that falls mostly along the east coast of North America. Its UTC time offset is −5 hrs during standard time and −4 hrs during daylight saving time... |
EST (UTC-5 UTC-5 UTC−05:00 is an identifier for a time offset from UTC of −05.This offset is used in the Eastern Time Zone during standard time and in the Central Time Zone during Daylight Saving Time .... ) |
EDT (UTC-4 UTC-4 UTC−04-00 is an identifier for a time offset from UTC of −04.This offset is used in the Atlantic Standard Time Zone in Canada and the North American Eastern Time Zone during daylight saving time , in the Caribbean region this is considered as the Eastern Caribbean timezone... ) |
| Central Time Zone | CST (UTC-6 UTC-6 UTC−06 is an identifier for a time offset from UTC of −06. This time is used in:-Central America:*Belize*Costa Rica*El Salvador*Guatemala*Honduras*Nicaragua-Central Standard Time:... ) |
CDT (UTC-5 UTC-5 UTC−05:00 is an identifier for a time offset from UTC of −05.This offset is used in the Eastern Time Zone during standard time and in the Central Time Zone during Daylight Saving Time .... ) |
| Mountain Time Zone Mountain Time Zone The Mountain Time Zone of North America keeps time by subtracting seven hours from Coordinated Universal Time, also known as Greenwich Mean Time, during the shortest days of autumn and winter , and by subtracting six hours during daylight saving time in the spring, summer, and early autumn... |
MST (UTC-7 UTC-7 thumb|300px|UTC−07: Blue , Orange , Yellow , Light Blue - Sea areasUTC−07:00 is an identifier for a time offset from UTC of −07.... ) |
MDT (UTC-6 UTC-6 UTC−06 is an identifier for a time offset from UTC of −06. This time is used in:-Central America:*Belize*Costa Rica*El Salvador*Guatemala*Honduras*Nicaragua-Central Standard Time:... ) |
| Pacific Time Zone Pacific Time Zone The Pacific Time Zone observes standard time by subtracting eight hours from Coordinated Universal Time . The clock time in this zone is based on the mean solar time of the 120th meridian west of the Greenwich Observatory. During daylight saving time, its time offset is UTC-7.In the United States... |
PST (UTC-8 UTC-8 UTC−08:00 is an identifier for a time offset from UTC of −08. This time is used in:-As standard time :*Canada**Northwest Territories***Tungsten and the associated Cantung Mine*Mexico... ) |
PDT (UTC-7 UTC-7 thumb|300px|UTC−07: Blue , Orange , Yellow , Light Blue - Sea areasUTC−07:00 is an identifier for a time offset from UTC of −07.... ) |
| Alaska Time Zone Alaska Time Zone The Alaska Time Zone observes standard time by subtracting nine hours from Coordinated Universal Time . During daylight saving time its time offset is only eight hours . The clock time in this zone is based on the mean solar time of the 135th meridian west of the Greenwich Observatory.The zone... |
AKST (UTC-9 UTC-9 UTC−09 is an identifier for a time offset from UTC of −09. This time is used in:-As standard time :*United States**Alaska... ) |
AKDT (UTC-8 UTC-8 UTC−08:00 is an identifier for a time offset from UTC of −08. This time is used in:-As standard time :*Canada**Northwest Territories***Tungsten and the associated Cantung Mine*Mexico... ) |
| Hawaii-Aleutian Time Zone Hawaii-Aleutian time zone The Hawaii-Aleutian Time Zone observes Hawaii-Aleutian Standard Time , by subtracting ten hours from Coordinated Universal Time . The clock time in this zone is based on the mean solar time of the 150th meridian west of the Greenwich Observatory.... |
HAST (UTC-10 UTC-10 UTC−10 is an identifier for a time offset from UTC of −10. This time is used in:-As standard time :*Cook Islands *Tokelau *French Polynesia... ) |
HADT (UTC-9 UTC-9 UTC−09 is an identifier for a time offset from UTC of −09. This time is used in:-As standard time :*United States**Alaska... ) * |
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 2007-09.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.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.Argentina
Since 2009, Argentina is not observing DST and the entire country stays on UTC-3.San Luis
San Luis, Argentina
-External links:* * *...
province, which was previously in a different time zone than most of the country and which formerly observed DST, decided in April 2010 not to change its clocks back and to stay on UTC-3 all year round.
The most recent history of Argentina observing DTS dates from 2007 to 2009. After a period of not observing DST, Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
observed DST in some provinces in an attempt to save energy. For each period, the executive branch of the government set the specific start and end dates for DST, i.e. there was no fixed annual schedule.
Bolivia
Since 2011, Bolivia was going to apply the time change from September 1 for the first time in its history, advancing the clock 60 minutes throughout the national territory, in order to offset their energy problems. The schedule change would take place every year between September and March, corresponding to the spring and summer of the South American country. However, the August 31, 2011 (eve of the failed schedule change), the national government of that country indefinitely suspended the summer time, due to opposition from experts in electricity, neighborhood and school leaders and the people themselves put.Brazil
BrazilBrazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
adopted DST (called horário de verão—"summer time"—in Portuguese
Portuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
) for the first time in 1931, and it was in effect across the entire country. The duration and regional applicability of DST has varied over the years (see Portuguese Wikipedia page for details). As of 2011, DST is used only in the southern region
Southern Region, Brazil
The South Region of Brazil is one of the five regions of Brazil. It includes the states of Paraná, Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul and covers 576,409.6 km ², being the smallest portion of the country...
(the states of Rio Grande do Sul
Rio Grande do Sul
Rio Grande do Sul is the southernmost state in Brazil, and the state with the fifth highest Human Development Index in the country. In this state is located the southernmost city in the country, Chuí, on the border with Uruguay. In the region of Bento Gonçalves and Caxias do Sul, the largest wine...
, Santa Catarina
Santa Catarina (state)
Santa Catarina is a state in southern Brazil with one of the highest standards of living in Latin America. Its capital is Florianópolis, which mostly lies on the Santa Catarina Island. Neighbouring states are Rio Grande do Sul to the south and Paraná to the north. It is bounded on the east by...
, Paraná
Paraná (state)
Paraná is one of the states of Brazil, located in the South of the country, bordered on the north by São Paulo state, on the east by the Atlantic Ocean, on the south by Santa Catarina state and the Misiones Province of Argentina, and on the west by Mato Grosso do Sul and the republic of Paraguay,...
), the southeast region
Southeast Region, Brazil
The Southeast Region of Brazil is composed by the states of Espírito Santo, Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. It is the richest region of the country, responsible for approximately 60% of the Brazilian GDP. São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Minas Gerais are three richest states of Brazil,...
(the states of São Paulo
São Paulo (state)
São Paulo is a state in Brazil. It is the major industrial and economic powerhouse of the Brazilian economy. Named after Saint Paul, São Paulo has the largest population, industrial complex, and economic production in the country. It is the richest state in Brazil...
, Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro (state)
Rio de Janeiro is one of the 27 states of Brazil.Rio de Janeiro has the second largest economy of Brazil behind only São Paulo state.The state of Rio de Janeiro is located within the Brazilian geopolitical region classified as the Southeast...
, Espirito Santo
Espírito Santo
Espírito Santo is one of the states of southeastern Brazil, often referred to by the abbreviation "ES". Its capital is Vitória and the largest city is Vila Velha. The name of the state means literally "holy spirit" after the Holy Ghost of Christianity...
, Minas Gerais
Minas Gerais
Minas Gerais is one of the 26 states of Brazil, of which it is the second most populous, the third richest, and the fourth largest in area. Minas Gerais is the Brazilian state with the largest number of Presidents of Brazil, the current one, Dilma Rousseff, being one of them. The capital is the...
), the central-west region (the state of Goiás
Goiás
Goiás is a state of Brazil, located in the central part of the country. The name Goiás comes from the name of an indigenous community...
and the Distrito Federal
Brazilian Federal District
The Federal District is set apart for Brasília, the capital of Brazil. Located in a region called Planalto Central, or Central Plateau, the Federal District is divided in 29 administrative regions. Brasilia - place where the three branches of the Federal Government are located - is the main...
, and the states of Mato Grosso
Mato Grosso
Mato Grosso is one of the states of Brazil, the third largest in area, located in the western part of the country.Neighboring states are Rondônia, Amazonas, Pará, Tocantins, Goiás and Mato Grosso do Sul. It also borders Bolivia to the southwest...
and Mato Grosso do Sul
Mato Grosso do Sul
Mato Grosso do Sul is one of the states of Brazil.Neighboring Brazilian states are Mato Grosso, Goiás, Minas Gerais, São Paulo and Paraná. It also borders the countries of Paraguay and Bolivia to the west. The economy of the state is largely based on agriculture and cattle-raising...
), and in Bahia
Bahia
Bahia is one of the 26 states of Brazil, and is located in the northeastern part of the country on the Atlantic coast. It is the fourth most populous Brazilian state after São Paulo, Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro, and the fifth-largest in size...
.ç+
In October 2011, 32 municipalities of eastern Mato Grosso
Mato Grosso
Mato Grosso is one of the states of Brazil, the third largest in area, located in the western part of the country.Neighboring states are Rondônia, Amazonas, Pará, Tocantins, Goiás and Mato Grosso do Sul. It also borders Bolivia to the southwest...
, don't follow DST and fixed in Brasilia
Brasília
Brasília is the capital city of Brazil. The name is commonly spelled Brasilia in English. The city and its District are located in the Central-West region of the country, along a plateau known as Planalto Central. It has a population of about 2,557,000 as of the 2008 IBGE estimate, making it the...
time, UTC-03:00 all year round.
Formerly, starting and ending dates were variable, but in 2008, a decree (No. 6558 of 9 September 2008) established a permanent rule: DST starts at 00:00 on the third Sunday in October and ends at 00:00 on the third Sunday in February—unless the latter falls during Carnaval
Brazilian Carnival
The Carnival of Brazil is an annual festival held forty-six days before Easter. On certain days of Lent, Roman Catholics and some other Christians traditionally abstained from the consumption of meat and poultry, hence the term "carnival," from carnelevare, "to remove meat." Carnival celebrations...
: 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.
Chile
ChileChile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
observes DST from the second Saturday in October to the second Saturday in March, but it may vary (see Time in Chile
Time in Chile
Continental Chile is situated geographically in UTC−05.Currently, Chile uses 2 different UTC offsets at any given point in the calendar year. Since it practices daylight saving time, in total 4 time zones are used...
). In 2008, for example, the time was adjusted on Sunday, March 30, at 12 midnight.
In 2010, because of the Earthquake, DST remained in effect until April 3. In 2011, in order to prevent energy shortages after a dry summer, DST was first extended until April 2 and then until May 7.
Colombia
From February 1992 until March 1993, ColombiaColombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
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.
Ecuador
President Sixto Durán BallénSixto Durán Ballén
Sixto Alfonso Durán-Ballén Cordovez is an U.S.-born Ecuadorian political figure and architect. He served as Mayor of Quito between 1970 and 1978, and as president of Ecuador between 1992 and 1996...
imposed daylight saving time in 1992 in an energy-saving effort. It was poorly received by the populace and did not last long.
Falkland Islands
DST is observed from the first Sunday of September to the third Sunday of April.The Islands will in 2011 try all year round "summer time"/DST (GMT-3): official clocks will not go back on April 17, 2011. For 2012 it is planned to go back to standard time during the southern hemisphere winter.
However, people in Camp (the countryside areas outside the main settlement, Stanley) do not tend to observe "summer time"/DST and keep their clocks on "Camp time" (GMT-4). Or they use summer time (GMT-3) all year to get more daylight for farming, depending on which source one reads.
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.
In 2010, Paraguay
Paraguay
Paraguay , officially the Republic of Paraguay , is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest. Paraguay lies on both banks of the Paraguay River, which runs through the center of the...
changed its own DST rules because of the energy crisis, ending DST on the second Sunday in April, a month later than previous years. The start date remains unchanged.
Uruguay
Since 2004, UruguayUruguay
Uruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area...
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.
No DST in South America
These countries or regions do not use daylight saving time:- ArgentinaArgentinaArgentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
- ColombiaColombiaColombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
- EcuadorEcuadorEcuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
- French GuianaFrench GuianaFrench Guiana is an overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department located on the northern Atlantic coast of South America. It has borders with two nations, Brazil to the east and south, and Suriname to the west...
- GuyanaGuyanaGuyana , officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, previously the colony of British Guiana, is a sovereign state on the northern coast of South America that is culturally part of the Anglophone Caribbean. Guyana was a former colony of the Dutch and of the British...
- PeruPeruPeru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
- SurinameSurinameSuriname , officially the Republic of Suriname , is a country in northern South America. It borders French Guiana to the east, Guyana to the west, Brazil to the south, and on the north by the Atlantic Ocean. Suriname was a former colony of the British and of the Dutch, and was previously known as...
- VenezuelaVenezuelaVenezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
- The following states of Brazil: AcreAcre (state)Acre is one of the 27 states of Brazil. It is situated in the southwest of the Northern Region, bordering Amazonas to the north, Rondônia to the east, Bolivia to the southeast and the Ucayali Region of Peru to the south and west. It occupies an area of 152,581.4 km2, being slightly smaller...
, AlagoasAlagoasAlagoas is one of the 27 federative units of Brazil and is situated in the eastern part of the Northeast Region. It borders: Pernambuco ; Sergipe ; Bahia ; and the Atlantic Ocean . It occupies an area of 27,767 km², being slightly larger than Haiti...
, AmapáAmapáAmapá is one of the states of Brazil, located in the extreme north, bordering French Guiana and Suriname to the north. To the east is the Atlantic Ocean, and to the south and west is the Brazilian state of Pará. Perhaps one of the main features of the state is the River Oiapoque, as it was once...
, Amazonas, CearáCearáCeará is one of the 27 states of Brazil, located in the northeastern part of the country, on the Atlantic coast. It is currently the 8th largest Brazilian State by population and the 17th by area. It is also one of the main touristic destinations in Brazil. The state capital is the city of...
, MaranhãoMaranhãoMaranhão is a northeastern state of Brazil. To the north lies the Atlantic Ocean. Maranhão is neighbored by the states of Piauí, Tocantins and Pará. The people of Maranhão have a distinctive accent...
, ParáParáPará is a state in the north of Brazil. It borders the Brazilian states of Amapá, Maranhão, Tocantins, Mato Grosso, Amazonas and Roraima. To the northwest it also borders Guyana and Suriname, and to the northeast it borders the Atlantic Ocean. The capital is Belém.Pará is the most populous state...
, ParaíbaParaíbaParaíba Paraíba Paraíba (Tupi: pa'ra a'íba: "bad to navigation"; Brazilian Portuguese pronunciation: is a state of Brazil. It is located in the Brazilian Northeast, and is bordered by Rio Grande do Norte to the north, Ceará to the west, Pernambuco to the south and the Atlantic Ocean to the east...
, PernambucoPernambucoPernambuco is a state of Brazil, located in the Northeast region of the country. To the north are the states of Paraíba and Ceará, to the west is Piauí, to the south are Alagoas and Bahia, and to the east is the Atlantic Ocean. There are about of beaches, some of the most beautiful in the...
, PiauíPiauíPiauí is one of the states of Brazil, located in the northeastern part of the country.Piauí has the shortest coastline of any of the non-landlocked Brazilian states at 66 km , and the capital, Teresina, is the only state capital in the north east to be located inland...
, Rio Grande do NorteRio Grande do NorteRio Grande do Norte is one of the states of Brazil, located in the northeastern region of the country, occupying the northeasternmost tip of the South American continent. Because of its geographic position, Rio Grande do Norte has a strategic importance. The capital and largest city is Natal...
, RondôniaRondôniaRondônia is a state in Brazil, located in the north-western part of the country. To the west is a short border with the state of Acre, to the north is the state of Amazonas, in the east is Mato Grosso, and in the south is Bolivia. Its capital is Porto Velho. The state was named after Candido Rondon...
, RoraimaRoraimaRoraima is the northernmost and least populated state of Brazil, located in the Amazon region. It borders the states of Amazonas and Pará, as well as the nations of Venezuela and Guyana. The population is 400,000 and the capital is Boa Vista...
, SergipeSergipeSergipe , is the smallest state of the Brazilian Federation, located on the northeastern Atlantic coast of the country. It borders on two other states, Bahia to the south and west and Alagoas to the north, and to the east is the Atlantic Ocean...
, and TocantinsTocantinsTocantins may refer to:* Tocantins, a state in Brazil* Tocantins River, a river in Brazil* Survivor: Tocantins, a reality show set in Tocantins, Brazil* Tocantins Esporte Clube, a Brazilian football club...
.
External links
- Sources for time zone and daylight saving time data
- Legal Time 2010 (as of 15 April)
- Daylight Saving for South East Queensland political party Official DS4SEQDaylight Saving for South East QueenslandDaylight Saving for South East Queensland is a political party in Queensland, Australia. It is a single-issue party, run by volunteers, which advocates the implementation of a dual-time zone arrangement for Daylight Saving in South East Queensland while the remainder of the state maintains...
website]