South America Time Zone Map

South America spans four offsets, from Venezuela (UTC−4) to Peru (UTC−5), the Atlantic coast of Brazil (UTC−3), and Chile (UTC−4, UTC−3 in its summer). Most of the continent abandoned daylight saving; only Chile keeps it.

Caracas · VET2:08 PMUTC−4

Your time11:38 PMSAT, OCT 31UTC+5:30

Caracas timeCaracas2:08 PMSAT, OCT 31UTC-4

Lima timeLima1:08 PMSAT, OCT 31UTC-5

Sao Paulo timeSao Paulo3:08 PMSAT, OCT 31UTC-3

Santiago timeSantiago3:08 PMSAT, OCT 31UTC-3

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Zones in this view

Zone	IANA	Standard	Daylight	Abbr
Caracas	America/Caracas	UTC−4	—	VET
Lima	America/Lima	UTC−5	—	PET
São Paulo	America/Sao_Paulo	UTC−3	— (no DST since 2019)	BRT
Santiago	America/Santiago	UTC−4	UTC−3 (CLST)	CLT/CLST

Good to know

The hemispheric flip: Chile’s daylight saving runs during the southern summer, which is the northern winter. In January, when it is 8 AM in New York (EST), it is 10 AM in both São Paulo and Santiago. In July, 8 AM in New York (EDT) is 9 AM in São Paulo but 8 AM in Santiago, which has fallen back to UTC−4.

Where the offsets come from

Every offset on this map is counted from Greenwich. Five dates in how the world agreed on that.

Before 1883

Sun time

Every town set its clocks by the sun overhead, so noon in Boston came about twelve minutes before noon in New York, and railroads juggled dozens of local times.

A weathered stone sundial with Roman numerals and an iron gnomon — A sundial on the porch of St Giles’ Church, Chesterton, England.

November 18, 1883

Railroad time

U.S. and Canadian railroads switched to standard zones an hour apart, set from Greenwich. Many towns reset their clocks the same day, remembered as “the day of two noons.”

A gold railroad pocket watch with a white dial, lying on its chain — A railroad pocket watch made for the Plant System, a railroad of the Southeast.

1884

Greenwich

Delegates at the International Meridian Conference in Washington chose the Greenwich meridian as longitude zero — the line every UTC offset on this site is counted from.

A red time ball on its mast above the octagonal turret of the Royal Observatory — The time ball on the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, dropped at 1 p.m. as a public time signal since 1833.

1918 and 1966

Time by law

The Standard Time Act made the zones federal law in 1918. The Uniform Time Act of 1966 set common daylight-saving rules and let a state opt out, as Arizona and Hawaii do.

The open back of a railroad-grade pocket watch, showing its jewelled movement — The movement of a Hamilton railroad-grade pocket watch, about 1929.

2026

Daylight saving

Since 2007 clocks spring forward on the second Sunday of March and fall back on the first Sunday of November: March 8 and November 1 this year.

A large 24-hour clock face set into a red brick wall beneath a sign reading Royal Observatory Greenwich — The Shepherd Gate Clock at Greenwich, which shows Greenwich Mean Time on a 24-hour dial.

Frequently asked questions

What time zone is Brazil in?

Most people in Brazil, including São Paulo, Rio, and Brasília, are on Brasília Time (UTC−3). The Amazon interior (Manaus) is UTC−4, Acre in the far west is UTC−5, and the Fernando de Noronha islands are UTC−2. Brazil has not observed daylight saving since 2019.

Does Chile observe daylight saving?

Yes — Chile moves to CLST (UTC−3) in its summer (September–April), one hour ahead of its winter UTC−4. Easter Island is on UTC−6.

What time zone is Bogotá in?

Bogotá is on Colombia Time (COT, UTC−5, IANA America/Bogota) year-round, with no daylight saving — the same clock as Lima.

Sources: offsets and daylight saving rules from theIANA time zone database; zone shapes from Timezone Boundary Builder. See Data Sources for versions and limitations.