Current Time in America/Rio_Branco Time Zone

Geographic and Political Coverage

The America/Rio_Branco zone applies to the Brazilian state of Acre and a handful of municipalities in the southwestern corner of Amazonas state, including Eirunepé, Envira, Ipixuna, and Guajará. These areas share the same UTC-05:00 offset year-round. The zone's anchor city, Rio Branco, is the largest urban center in the region, with a population of over 400,000. Other notable cities include Cruzeiro do Sul, Sena Madureira, and Tarauacá in Acre, as well as the Amazonian towns of Eirunepé and Envira.

Offset and Abbreviation

The standard offset for America/Rio_Branco is UTC-05:00, meaning local time is five hours behind Coordinated Universal Time. The commonly used abbreviation for this offset is ACT (Acre Time), though some sources may refer to it as -05. Unlike many time zones that switch between standard and daylight saving abbreviations, ACT remains constant throughout the year because Brazil's western regions do not observe daylight saving time.

Daylight Saving Time: None

Brazil previously observed daylight saving time in parts of the country, but the practice was abolished nationwide in 2019. Even before that, the states of Acre and western Amazonas never participated in DST due to their low latitude and minimal variation in daylight hours. As a result, America/Rio_Branco has a fixed offset of UTC-05:00 all year. There is no spring-forward or fall-back event, making scheduling straightforward for residents and businesses.

Comparison with Other Brazilian Time Zones

Brazil has four main time zones: Fernando de Noronha (UTC-02:00), Brasília (UTC-03:00), Amazon (UTC-04:00), and Acre (UTC-05:00). America/Rio_Branco is the westernmost and the only one at UTC-05:00. It is one hour behind Amazon Time (used in Manaus and most of the Amazon basin) and two hours behind Brasília Time (used in São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, and Brasília). This means that when it is noon in Rio Branco, it is 1:00 PM in Manaus and 2:00 PM in Brasília.

Other Zones at UTC-05:00

Several other IANA zones share the same standard offset of UTC-05:00, including America/Bogota (Colombia), America/Guayaquil (Ecuador), America/Lima (Peru), and America/Panama (Panama). However, many of these zones also do not observe DST, so they remain aligned with America/Rio_Branco year-round. In contrast, zones like America/Detroit and America/Havana observe DST, causing their offsets to shift to UTC-04:00 during summer months, creating a temporary one-hour difference with Rio Branco.

Practical Guidance for Scheduling

When scheduling calls or meetings with someone in America/Rio_Branco, note that the zone is always UTC-05:00. For example:

• New York (UTC-05:00 standard, UTC-04:00 DST) is on the same time as Rio Branco during winter but one hour ahead during summer.
• London (UTC+00:00 standard, UTC+01:00 DST) is five hours ahead during winter and six hours ahead during summer.
• Tokyo (UTC+09:00, no DST) is 14 hours ahead year-round.
• Sydney (UTC+10:00 standard, UTC+11:00 DST) is 15 hours ahead during winter and 16 hours ahead during summer.

Because Rio Branco does not observe DST, its time difference with DST-observing zones shifts twice a year. Always check the current DST status of the other party's location to avoid confusion.