Lifestyle

The End of Daylight Savings Time

Twice each year, our American continents had to devote more time to local time. But for Brazil, no longer.

The end of Daylight Savings Time is here again, but for Brazil, it’s a permanent change. Or is it?

by Scott Adams

Running on ‘Brazilian Time’ usually means a more relaxed pace to the day. But in this case, we here on the northern side of the equator will fall back one hour while our Samba-loving friends in the southern hemisphere have already decided to abandon Daylight Savings Time once and for all.

Or not, maybe.

In order for time to change, the USA leaves Daylight Savings Time at 2:00 am local time early Sunday morning, November 5th, 2023. Meanwhile, Brazil will do nothing, for at least a year.

And you thought learning Portuguese verbs was confusing.

This means that all of Brazil’s cities including Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, and Brasilia will be ahead of US cities by one additional hour, making the time difference in New York two hours, Chicago three hours, and Los Angeles by five hours.

Brazil currently observes Brasília Time (BRT) all year. Clocks do not change in Brazil.

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The History of Brazilian Time

Daylight Savings Time was first adopted by Brazil in 1931. Initially, it applied to the whole country (except for a while in 1963). DST was stopped in 1968, only to return in 1985. Then beginning in 1988, DST applied to only parts of the country.

Now, Brazil is ‘experimenting’ with the end of Daylight Savings Time again by putting all time changes on hold for at least a year. The official announcement came on April 26, 2019.

So what caused the change this time?

High School exams in Brazil may have had something to do with it. In 2018, it was suggested that Brazil would move its DST date to November 18^th, giving time to change the impact of DST during the country’s most important university entrance exams.

Several years ago, a new law to consolidate time for the start of Carnaval countrywide further shortened the end of Daylight Savings Time by two weeks. The November election run-offs were also important considerations.

Half Did, Half Did Not

While all of the United States will observe Standard Time, there’s been a shift away from DST in Brazil’s northern states, due to their proximity to the equator. So, basically, the northern half of the country remained on Standard time, including the cities of Salvador, Manaus, Recife, Fortaleza, Belem, and Natal.

The end of Daylight Savings Time. 2018 map of Brazil showing time change regions. — Image: timeanddate.com

Brazilian states that observed the end of Daylight Savings Time included: Brasilia (Distrito Federal), Espírito Santo, Goiás, Mato Grosso (partial), Mato Grosso Do Sul, Minas Gerais, Paraná, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul.

Something to keep in mind for business or leisure activity, or when calling friends and family.

Looking ahead

America will return to Daylight Savings Time on Sunday, March 10^th, 2024. This leaves plenty of time to take your time. And to enjoy your favorite Brazilian music.

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Finally, Seven Things To Do For The End Of Daylight Savings Time

Reset all of your clocks. Don’t forget the car and your microwave.
Sort through your Brazilian music to freshen up your personal playlists!
Set lights to turn on when you need them, and smart lights, too.
Get turned on to light therapy, especially for those moody Standard Time months.
Update your Smart Home routine and IoT devices
Plan a few Brazilian events to fill up those long nights ahead.
Time to change those smoke alarm batteries, right?
Change your home’s air filters for a clean start to the time-change season.

Here’s a ‘Timeless’ song from Sergio Mendes: