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Brazil Changes DST Start from 2018

By Anne Buckle. Published 18-Dec-2017RSS

Lawmakers in Brazil have decided to move the start of Daylight Saving Time (DST) from 2018, effectively shortening the DST-period in the country by two weeks.

View of traffic on street next to Congresso Nacional (National Congress) building in Brasilia, capital of Brazil.

National Congress in Brasilia, Brazil.

©iStockphoto.com/rmnunes

On the night between Saturday, November 3 and Sunday, November 4, 2018 clocks in the southern parts of Brazil will be set forward 1 hour from 00:00 (12:00 am, midnight) to 01:00 (1:00 am).

Brazil's new DST switch

Same End Date

On December 16, 2017, the president of Brazil, Michel Temer, signed a decree (in Portuguese) moving the start of DST in the South American country from October to November.

The new decree states that clocks will be set forward 1 hour at midnight of the first Sunday of November of each year until midnight of the third Sunday of February the following year, according to several Brazilian news sources.

Better for the Elections

The decree comes as a result of federal elections in Brazil in October next year. Setting the clocks forward after the second round of elections allows for a better vote count after the poll stations close in the different time zones in the country.

States Using DST in Brazil

Currently the states of São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Distrito Federal, Santa Catarina, Paraná, Goiás, Rio Grande do Sul, Mato Grosso Do Sul, Espírito Santo, Minas Gerais, and Mato Grosso (some exceptions) use DST.

Time in Brazil

Brazil has four time zones, stretching from UTC-2 to UTC-5 (standard time):

  1. UTC-2: includes areas such as the archipelago of Fernando de Noronha.
  2. UTC-3: this is largest time zone, comprising eastern and central areas, and including all states bordering the Atlantic coast (except some islands), from Pará and Amapá in the north to Rio Grande do Sul in the South; includes the Brazilian Federal District with the capital Brasilia.
  3. UTC-4: includes the states of Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, Rondônia, Roraima, and most of Amazonas.
  4. UTC-5: comprises the state of Acre and the westernmost part of Amazonas (west of Tabatinga / Porto Acre).