West Africa Time
Encyclopedia
West Africa Time, or WAT, is a time zone used in west-central Africa
(though not in countries west of Benin
, which instead use UTC). The zone is one hour ahead of UTC
(Coordinated Universal Time) (UTC+01), which makes it the same as Central European Time
. Note that it does not include most of the countries that make up the West Africa
region (these use UTC).
As most of this time zone is in the equator
ial region there is no significant change in day length throughout the year, so daylight saving time
is not observed. The exception to this is Namibia
, which moves to West Africa Summer Time (WAST) (UTC+02) in the summer months, September to April.
West Africa Time is used by the following countries: (western)
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
(though not in countries west of Benin
Benin
Benin , officially the Republic of Benin, is a country in West Africa. It borders Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east and Burkina Faso and Niger to the north. Its small southern coastline on the Bight of Benin is where a majority of the population is located...
, which instead use UTC). The zone is one hour ahead of UTC
Coordinated Universal Time
Coordinated Universal Time is the primary time standard by which the world regulates clocks and time. It is one of several closely related successors to Greenwich Mean Time. Computer servers, online services and other entities that rely on having a universally accepted time use UTC for that purpose...
(Coordinated Universal Time) (UTC+01), which makes it the same as Central European Time
Central European Time
Central European Time , used in most parts of the European Union, is a standard time that is 1 hour ahead of Coordinated Universal Time . The time offset from UTC can be written as +01:00...
. Note that it does not include most of the countries that make up the West Africa
West Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. Geopolitically, the UN definition of Western Africa includes the following 16 countries and an area of approximately 5 million square km:-Flags of West Africa:...
region (these use UTC).
As most of this time zone is in the equator
Equator
An equator is the intersection of a sphere's surface with the plane perpendicular to the sphere's axis of rotation and containing the sphere's center of mass....
ial region there is no significant change in day length throughout the year, so daylight saving time
Daylight saving time
Daylight saving time —also summer time in several countries including in British English and European official terminology —is the practice of temporarily advancing clocks during the summertime so that afternoons have more daylight and mornings have less...
is not observed. The exception to this is Namibia
Namibia
Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia , is a country in southern Africa whose western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and east. It gained independence from South Africa on 21 March...
, which moves to West Africa Summer Time (WAST) (UTC+02) in the summer months, September to April.
West Africa Time is used by the following countries: (western)