Experts insist that daylight saving time helps save energy, as people use less electric lighting by adjusting their clocks to natural light at different times of the year. However, adjusting to a time change twice a year can be a source of stress, and for travelers, it can cause an additional layer of complexity when trying to determine what time it is at your destination. The dates for observing daylight saving time are different in Mexico than in the rest of North America, which adds to the difficulty of adapting to the time change and can cause confusion.
Here’s what you need to know about how daylight saving time is observed in Mexico:
Is summer time observed in Mexico?
In Mexico, summer time is known as summer time . It has been observed since 1996 in most of the country. Note that the state of Quintana Roo and Sonora, as well as some remote villages, do not observe daylight saving time and do not change their clocks.
When is summer time in Mexico?
In most of Mexico, the dates for daylight saving time are different from those in the United States and Canada, which can be a source of confusion. In Mexico, daylight saving time begins on the first Sunday in April and ends on the last Sunday in October . On the first Sunday in April, Mexicans advance their clock one hour at 2 a.m. and on the last Sunday in October, they change their clocks one hour at 2 a.m.
Time zones in Mexico
There are four time zones in Mexico:
- The Northwest Zone ( Northwest Zone ) is exclusively for the state of Baja California, and is equivalent to the Pacific Time Zone in the United States (UTC -8).
- The Pacific Zone (Pacific Zone) applies in the states of Baja California Sur, Chihuahua, Nayarit, Sinaloa and Sonora, and is equivalent to the Mountain Time Zone (UTC -7).
- The Central Zone ( Zona Centro ) covers more than three-quarters of the country, encompasses all of central and eastern Mexico, including the capital, Mexico City, and extends as far as Cancun on the Yucatan Peninsula. The central zone is equivalent to the central time zone in the US and Canada (UTC -6).
- The Southeast Zone ( Southeast Zone ) The state of Quintana Roo, which is home to Cancun and the Riviera Maya, is located in the southeast as of February 2015. The state had previously been in Central Time.
Exceptions
Beginning in 2010, daylight saving time was extended in some municipalities along the border to coincide with the observation of daylight saving time in the United States. The following locations are included in this provision: Tijuana and Mexicali in the state of Baja California, Ciudad Juárez and Ojinaga in the state of Chihuahua, Acuña and Piedras Negras in Coahuila, Anahuac in Nuevo León and Nuevo Laredo, Reynosa and Matamoros in Tamaulipas. In these locations, daylight saving time begins on the second Sunday in March and ends on the first Sunday in November.
