Daylight Saving time (DST) Countries and Cities Worldwide | Summer Time around the world

Daylight Saving Time (DST) or Summer Time

Many countries, or even parts of some countries, adopt daylight saving time (DST) (also known as Summer Time) during a part of the year. It was observed by the people living in Northern Latitudes like England and other European nations that in winter the day time is much shorter than 12 hrs and people tend to lose nearly one hour on the time available for work. So their Governments decided to increase working hours during summer months from April to September by adding one hour to their standard time. Thus one hour working time lost in winter was gained by working additional one hour in 6 months of summer. Today, nearly 70 countries observe Daylight Saving Time in at least a portion of the country. This involves advancing clocks by an hour near the start of spring (summer) and adjusting back in autumn ("spring" forward, "fall" back). Daylight Saving Time is a way of getting more light out of the day. During Daylight Saving Time, the sun appears to rise one hour later in the morning, and sets one hour later in the evening. This seems to stretch the day longer. The benefit is that this saves energy due to less artificial light (electricity) required during the evening hours. Many countries observe DST and many do not. Most areas in Europe and North America observe daylight saving time (DST), while most areas of Africa and Asia do not. In South America, most countries in the north of the continent near the Equator do not observe DST, while Paraguay and most of Chile do. Now there is a proposal to adopt or abolish DST in European Union. (see Wikipedia)

In Astrology, When DST or summer time is in force, you need to subtract one hour (in some cases 1/2 hour or 2 hours) from the local birth time. This is important because in vedic astrology, birth is taken to be the number of ghatikas passed the local sunrise time. So in Indian Astrology, for casting a Nirayana Horoscope, LMT of Sunrise is of prime importance to cast a correct chart. Click to see examples of DST Adjustment method and World Timezones.

The laws governing daylight savings are sometimes changed by the countries. Therefore, one must be very particular about DST. Entrying incorrect DST in astrology softwares data entry means incorrect ascendant and incorrect planetary degrees, particularly of the fastest moving planets like the moon. The table below gives DST start and end dates generally followed by various countries of the world.

DST is not followed by these countries at present:

Afghanistan, Bahrain, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Macau, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, North Korea, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Puerto Rico, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Thailand, Timor Leste, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Vietnam

Please check for latest information on DST and their start and end times on this site.

Country	DST (Summer Time) Dates
AFRICA
Egypt	Last Friday in April to Last Thursday in September
Namibia	First Sunday in September to First Sunday in April
Tunisia	Last Sunday in March to Last Sunday in October
ASIA
Most states of former USSR	Last Sunday in March to Last Sunday in October
Iraq	First Friday in April to Last Friday in October
Israel	Last Friday before April 2 to Sunday between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur
Jordan	Last Thursday of March to Last Friday in September
Lebanon, Kyrgyzstan	Last Sunday in March to Last Sunday in October Note: Lebanon did not observe DST from 1900 to 1919, 1924 to 1956, 1962 to 1971 and 1979 to 1983. Kyrgyzstan observed DST only from 1981 to 2005.
Mangolia	Fourth Friday in March to Last Friday in September
Palestinian regions	First Friday on or after 15 April to First Friday on or after 15 October
Syria	March 30 to September 21
ASTRALASIA
Australia - South Australia, Victoria, Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Lord Howe Island	First Sunday in October to First Sunday in April
Australia - Tasmania	First Sunday in October to Last Sunday in March
Fiji	Discontinued in 2000
New Zealand, Chatham	Last Sunday in September to First Sunday in April
Tonga	First Sunday in November to Last Sunday in January
EUROPE
European Union, UK	Last Sunday in March at 1 am UTC to Last Sunday in October at 1 am UTC
Russia	Last Sunday in March at 2.0 am local time to Last Sunday in October at 2.0 am local time
NORTH AMERICA
United States, Canada (excluding Saskatchewan and parts of Quebec, B.C., and Ontario), Mexico Bermuda, St. Johns, Bahamas, Turks and Caicos	Till 2006: First Sunday in April to Last Sunday in October. From 2007: Second Sunday in March to First Sunday in November
Cuba	Third Sunday in March to Last Sunday of October
Greenland	Last Sunday in March at 1.0 am UTC to Last Sunday in October at 1.0 am UTC
Guatemala, Nicaragua	DST is no longer observed.
Honduras	May 7 to August
Mexico (except Sonora)	First Sunday in April to Last Sunday in October
SOUTH AMERICA
Argentina started from 30 December, 2007 ending on 16 March, 2008.	Not currently observed.
Brazil (Equatorial Brazil does not observe DST.)	Third Sunday in October to Third Sunday in February
Chile	October 11 to March 29
Falklands	First Sunday on or after 8 September to First Sunday on or after 6 April
Paraguay	Third Sunday in October to Second Sunday in March