Time in Johannesburg

SAST has been UTC+2 since 1903, when the colonies that later formed South Africa agreed on a single standard time based on the 30th meridian east. Daylight saving was tried only during the Second World War, from 1942 to 1944. The whole country, from Cape Town to Durban, plus Lesotho and Eswatini, keeps the same time, although the sun rises about 50 minutes later in Cape Town than in Durban because of the distance in longitude.

Johannesburg lies at about 28° east, close to the zone's reference meridian, so solar noon falls around 12:06 to 12:09 all year. Being in the Southern Hemisphere, the long days come in December: sunrise near 5:12 AM and sunset around 6:59 PM, roughly 13 hours 47 minutes of light. In June the sun rises close to 6:54 AM and sets around 5:24 PM, a day of about 10 and a half hours.

Johannesburg is Africa's main financial center. Offices generally work 8:00 to 17:00, and the Johannesburg Stock Exchange trades from 9:00 to 17:00 local time, with a closing auction just before 17:00. Those hours overlap almost completely with London's trading day.

During British Summer Time Johannesburg is one hour ahead of London; in the UK winter it is two hours ahead. Against New York the gap is seven hours from November to March and six hours from March to November, so a 9:00 AM meeting in New York is 3:00 or 4:00 PM in Johannesburg. The SAST to EST page lists each hour, and the world clock compares Johannesburg with 68 other cities.