Brazil has a large territory, being the fifth largest country in territorial extension. In addition, some parts of the Brazilian geographic space have a long east-west direction. Because of this, sunlight and the succession of days and nights do not occur at the same time in different locations, which means that some regions have different times than others.
Thus, we say that Brazil has different time zones, that is, different areas in which hours are measured at different times, with a delay or advance of one in relation to the other.
But do you know how many time zones there are in Brazil?
Officially, there are four time zones in Brazil. This means that the Brazilian government divides the country into four areas, each at a different time. The areas that are farther east are more advanced than the areas that are to the west, as the sun takes longer to rise in the latter.
See the map below:
Map of current Brazilian time zones
The map shows four areas with different time regions. The first, located at -2GMT (that is, two hours behind the Greenwich Meridian), covers only a few oceanic islands belonging to Brazil. The second, -3GMT, holds most of the territory, including the capital Brasília. The third, -4GMT, encompasses some states in the west of the country. Finally, the last one – -5GMT – covers the state of Acre and a small part of Amazonas.
There have already been changes in Brazilian time zones
The map above the Brazilian time zones represents the current stage of time demarcations, but it was not always like this. Previously, half of the state of Pará was in the -4GMT time zone, while Acre was in the -5GMT time zone, as it is now.
However, in 2008, the entire state of Pará became part of the -3GMT zone, while the territory of Acre became part of -4GMT. Thus, the fifth zone ceased to exist in Brazilian territory. But, in 2010, a referendum held between the African population and the areas around them determined that the region would return to the previous time, which was sanctioned by the Presidency of the Republic in September 2013.
And you, when looking at the map, can you identify which time zone you are currently in?
By Rodolfo Alves Pena
Graduated in Geography