Benguela, Angola · UTC+1
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Benguela, Angola, runs on West Africa Time (UTC+1) year-round. No daylight saving time is observed. IANA timezone: Africa/Luanda.
Benguela is a port city on Angola’s Atlantic coast, about 500 kilometers south of the capital Luanda. It shares Angola’s single timezone, Africa/Luanda: UTC+1, year-round, no daylight saving time observed. The city has been an Atlantic port since Portuguese colonization in the late sixteenth century, and its position on the ocean defines its climate and its economy.
The UTC+1 offset is West Africa Time, shared with a band of countries across Central and West Africa. At Benguela’s latitude of roughly 12 degrees south, the offset keeps solar noon close to 1pm, which is about as aligned as a fixed clock gets at this distance from the meridian.
The cold current
Benguela gives its name to the Benguela Current, the cold oceanic upwelling that runs northward along the southwestern African coast. This current suppresses rainfall along the coast, creating the Namib Desert to the south, and makes Benguela’s climate surprisingly cool for a tropical latitude. The city is drier and more temperate than its latitude would suggest. Sea fog is common in the mornings.
The current also makes the waters extremely productive for fishing. Benguela’s economy has historically centered on fish processing and export. The city’s rhythms follow the fishing industry: boats depart before dawn, and the fish markets open early.
Postwar reconstruction
Angola’s 27-year civil war ended in 2002. Benguela was heavily affected, and much of its colonial-era infrastructure was damaged or neglected during the conflict. The postwar years brought significant reconstruction investment. The Benguela Railway, which once connected the Atlantic coast to Zambia’s copper belt, was rebuilt and partially reopened in the 2000s.
The time difference between Benguela and London is one hour in winter, zero hours in summer when the UK observes BST, briefly making Benguela and London the same time.
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Questions about time in Benguela
- What timezone is Benguela in?
- Benguela uses the IANA timezone
Africa/Luanda. The UTC offset is always UTC+1 — this timezone does not observe daylight saving time. - Does Benguela observe daylight saving time?
- No. Benguela does not observe daylight saving time. The UTC offset remains UTC+1 all year round.
- What is the current UTC offset for Benguela?
- Benguela is currently at UTC+1.
- What is the time difference between Benguela and New York?
- Benguela is currently 5 hours ahead of New York.
- What is the time difference between Benguela and Los Angeles?
- Benguela is currently 8 hours ahead of Los Angeles.
- What is the time difference between Benguela and Tokyo?
- Benguela is currently 8 hours behind Tokyo.
- What is the IANA timezone name for Benguela?
- The IANA timezone database identifier for Benguela is
Africa/Luanda. Use this string in programming languages and APIs: JavaScript (`new Intl.DateTimeFormat('en-US', { timeZone: 'Africa/Luanda' })`), Python (`pytz.timezone('Africa/Luanda')`), or any IANA-compatible library.