Time in Namibia facts for kids
Namibia uses a special time zone called Central Africa Time (CAT). This means their clocks are always set to UTC+02:00, which is two hours ahead of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). Namibia has used this time zone all year round since September 2017.
Before 2017, Namibia used to change its clocks twice a year, just like many other countries do for daylight saving time. This made things a bit complicated!
Contents
Understanding Time Zones
Time zones are areas that use the same standard time. Imagine the Earth spinning like a top. As it spins, different parts of the world get sunlight at different times. To keep track of this, we divide the world into time zones.
- UTC stands for Coordinated Universal Time. It's the main time standard that the world uses. All other time zones are measured from UTC. For example, UTC+02:00 means two hours ahead of UTC.
Namibia's Time Journey
For many years, Namibia changed its clocks with the seasons. This was a common practice, but it could be confusing for people and businesses.
Before 2017: Changing Times
From 1994 until 2017, Namibia had two different times:
- During the winter months, they used West Africa Time (WAT). This was UTC+01:00, meaning one hour ahead of UTC.
- During the summer, they switched to West Africa Summer Time (WAST). This was UTC+02:00, which is the same as their current time. This change was like daylight saving time.
The Big Change in 2017
In 2017, the government of Namibia decided to make things simpler. They wanted to stop changing the clocks twice a year.
- On February 23, 2017, a new law was proposed. This law aimed to keep Namibia on one time zone all year.
- The new law officially started on September 3, 2017. From that day on, Namibia has stayed on Central Africa Time (UTC+02:00) all the time. This means no more changing clocks for winter or summer!
