In Brazil, there are 4 time zones. Brazil's time zones are west of Ground Zero, including the oceanic islands and ranging from two to five hours behind the main meridian.
Time zones in Brazil began in 1913, when President Hermes da Fonseca (1855-1923) signed Decree No. 2.784, which instituted four time zones in the country.
Brazil time zones
As Brazil has continental dimensions, its territory contains more than one time zone.
- Zone 1: At 30° of GMT, the first Brazilian zone appears, which includes the oceanic islands of Atol das Rocas, Fernando de Noronha, São Pedro and São Paulo, Trindade and Martim Vaz. Time is counted by two hour subtraction to GMT.
- Zone 2: When reaching 45° in relation to the Zero meridian, the country will have another zone, in which subtract three hours of the main spindle. This zone comprises most of the national territory, including the Federal (Brasilia time), the South, Southeast and Northeast regions, as well as the states of Goiás, Tocantins, Pará and Amapá.
- Zone 3: At 60° of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), which corresponds to the states of Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, Rondônia, Roraima, and about two thirds of the state of Amazonas, subtract four hours in relation to the 0° meridian. Note that, as the mentioned states do not participate in daylight saving time, the time difference increases by two hours in relation to the rest of the country.
- Zone 4: In the extreme west of Brazil we will have the last time zone, located at -75° of the Greenwich Meridian and with five hours subtracted from that meridian to GMT. However, on April 24, 2008, Federal Law No. 11,6622 extinguished this time zone. However, due to the unpopularity of this measure, it was reinstated on October 30, 2013 and remains in force today. This time zone covers the state of Acre, and the municipalities of Atalaia do Norte, Benjamin Constant, Boca do Acre, Eirunepé, Envira, Guajará, Ipixuna, Itamarati, Jutaí, Lábrea, Pauini, São Paulo de Olivença and Tabatinga, all in the state of Amazonas.
Time Zones in Brazil and Summer Time
Time zones can be affected by daylight savings, a measure taken to save energy by making better use of the hours of sunshine.
Brazil has adopted this schedule since 1985, in the Southeast, Midwest and South, where the clock in one hour, a fact that needs to be observed when calculating the time zones, in which the difference.
Summer Time is attended by Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina, Paraná, São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Espírito Santo, Minas Gerais, Goiás, Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, Bahia and the Federal District.
As the North and Northeast regions do not apply Daylight Savings Time, the time difference between the regions decreases in this period.
However, in 2019, the President of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, ended daylight saving time.
Time Zones: definition
The time zones, which are 24 in total, correspond to 15° of the 360° of the Earth's circumference. In other words, 15° corresponds to one hour, counted from the city of Greenwich, England.
So, for the time zones east (east) of this meridian, we add the hours with the GMT, while for those that are west (west) they will subtract their hours in relation to the Greenwich time (GMT).
Therefore, as the Brazilian territory is in the western hemisphere, its time is delayed in relation to the English city.
