South Africa Standard Time
Encyclopedia
South African Standard Time, or SAST, is a time zone
used by all of South Africa
, as well as Swaziland
and Lesotho
. The zone is two hours ahead of UTC (UTC+2
) and is the same as Central Africa Time
, with Daylight saving time
not being observed in either time zone. Solar noon in this time zone occurs at 30° E
in SAST, effectively making Durban
and Pietermaritzburg
at the correct solar noon point. Everywhere west of 22°30' E effectively experiences year-round daylight saving time due to its location in true UTC+1
but still being in SAST, thus sunrise and sunset are relatively late in Cape Town
compared to the rest of the country.
To illustrate, daylight hours for South Africa's western and eastern-most major cities:
, and amongst the subjects discussed was the difficulty of working a railway system in the absence of a uniform time system. As an outcome the then governments of the Orange Free State
, Transvaal
and the Cape Colony
officially adopted a uniform standard time of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT)
+01:30 which was defined as mean time of the 22.5º East of Greenwich. On 1 March 1903 GMT+02:00 was adopted, which became the current UTC+02:00 when UTC replaced GMT for most purposes.
Prior to the 1st of March 1903 the Colony of Natal
was already using a uniform time supplied by the Natal Observatory
. The observatory's local mean time
being GMT+1:57.
South Africa observed a daylight saving time
of GMT+3:00 from the 19th of September 1942 until 21st of March 1943.
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...
used by all of South Africa
South Africa
The 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...
, as well as Swaziland
Swaziland
Swaziland, 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...
and Lesotho
Lesotho
Lesotho , 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...
. The zone is two hours ahead of UTC (UTC+2
UTC+2
UTC+02 is an identifier for a time offset from UTC of +02. In ISO 8601 the associated time would be written as . This time is used in:-Central Africa Time:*Botswana*Burundi*Democratic Republic of the Congo...
) and is the same as Central Africa Time
Central Africa Time
Central Africa Time, or CAT, is a time zone used in central and southern Africa. The zone is two hours ahead of UTC , which is the same as the adjacent South Africa Standard Time and also the same as Eastern European Time....
, with Daylight saving time
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...
not being observed in either time zone. Solar noon in this time zone occurs at 30° E
30th meridian east
The meridian 30° east of Greenwich is a line of longitude that extends from the North Pole across the Arctic Ocean, Europe, Turkey, Africa, the Indian Ocean, the Southern Ocean, and Antarctica to the South Pole....
in SAST, effectively making Durban
Durban
Durban is the largest city in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal and the third largest city in South Africa. It forms part of the eThekwini metropolitan municipality. Durban is famous for being the busiest port in South Africa. It is also seen as one of the major centres of tourism...
and Pietermaritzburg
Pietermaritzburg
Pietermaritzburg is the capital and second largest city in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It was founded in 1838, and is currently governed by the Msunduzi Local Municipality. Its "purist" Zulu name is umGungundlovu, and this is the name used for the district municipality...
at the correct solar noon point. Everywhere west of 22°30' E effectively experiences year-round daylight saving time due to its location in true UTC+1
UTC+1
UTC+01:00 is an identifier for a time offset from UTC of +01:00. In ISO 8601 the associated time would be written as .This time is used in:*Central European Time*West Africa Time*Western European Summer Time**British Summer Time**Irish Standard Time...
but still being in SAST, thus sunrise and sunset are relatively late in Cape Town
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
compared to the rest of the country.
To illustrate, daylight hours for South Africa's western and eastern-most major cities:
| 1 January | 1 July | |
|---|---|---|
| Cape Town Cape Town Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality... |
05:38–20:01 | 07:52–17:48 |
| Durban Durban Durban is the largest city in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal and the third largest city in South Africa. It forms part of the eThekwini metropolitan municipality. Durban is famous for being the busiest port in South Africa. It is also seen as one of the major centres of tourism... |
04:58–19:00 | 06:52–17:07 |
History
Prior to the 8th of February 1892 there was no uniformity of time in South Africa and local time was in use at the various towns. In 1892 a railway conference was held in BloemfonteinBloemfontein
Bloemfontein is the capital city of the Free State Province of South Africa; and, as the judicial capital of the nation, one of South Africa's three national capitals – the other two being Cape Town, the legislative capital, and Pretoria, the administrative capital.Bloemfontein is popularly and...
, and amongst the subjects discussed was the difficulty of working a railway system in the absence of a uniform time system. As an outcome the then governments of the Orange Free State
Orange Free State
The Orange Free State was an independent Boer republic in southern Africa during the second half of the 19th century, and later a British colony and a province of the Union of South Africa. It is the historical precursor to the present-day Free State province...
, Transvaal
South African Republic
The South African Republic , often informally known as the Transvaal Republic, was an independent Boer-ruled country in Southern Africa during the second half of the 19th century. Not to be confused with the present-day Republic of South Africa, it occupied the area later known as the South African...
and the Cape Colony
Cape Colony
The Cape Colony, part of modern South Africa, was established by the Dutch East India Company in 1652, with the founding of Cape Town. It was subsequently occupied by the British in 1795 when the Netherlands were occupied by revolutionary France, so that the French revolutionaries could not take...
officially adopted a uniform standard time of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT)
Greenwich Mean Time
Greenwich Mean Time is a term originally referring to mean solar time at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, London. It is arguably the same as Coordinated Universal Time and when this is viewed as a time zone the name Greenwich Mean Time is especially used by bodies connected with the United...
+01:30 which was defined as mean time of the 22.5º East of Greenwich. On 1 March 1903 GMT+02:00 was adopted, which became the current UTC+02:00 when UTC replaced GMT for most purposes.
Prior to the 1st of March 1903 the Colony of Natal
Colony of Natal
The Colony of Natal was a British colony in south-eastern Africa. It was proclaimed a British colony on May 4, 1843 after the British government had annexed the Boer Republic of Natalia, and on 31 May 1910 combined with three other colonies to form the Union of South Africa, as one of its...
was already using a uniform time supplied by the Natal Observatory
Natal Observatory
The Natal Observatory was an astronomical observatory in the Colony of Natal from 1882 to 1911...
. The observatory's local mean time
Local mean time
Local mean time is a form of solar time that corrects the variations of local apparent time, forming a uniform time scale at a specific longitude...
being GMT+1:57.
South Africa observed a daylight saving time
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...
of GMT+3:00 from the 19th of September 1942 until 21st of March 1943.