Dodoma, Tanzania · UTC+3 ☆

Dodoma sits in the center of Tanzania, a deliberate choice when the government designated it capital in 1974, seeking to move the seat of power away from the coastal city of Dar es Salaam. The relocation was only partially completed: parliament moved to Dodoma, but most government ministries and the diplomatic community stayed in Dar es Salaam for decades. Both cities run on East Africa Time, UTC+3, year-round under Africa/Dar_es_Salaam.

At 6 degrees south and 1,120 meters elevation, Dodoma has a drier and cooler climate than the coast. The central plateau gives the city clearer skies and more defined seasonal rhythms. Sunrise falls around 6am year-round. The city’s working life follows a relatively straightforward schedule, government business hours, markets in the morning, the midday heat driving people inside.

Swahili time at the market

Tanzania, like its neighbor Kenya, uses the Swahili time system (saa za Kiswahili) alongside standard East Africa Time. Dodoma’s government offices run on official EAT, but the central market and informal sectors follow the Swahili clock, counting hours from sunrise. “Saa tatu asubuhi” (3 o’clock in the morning, meaning 9am standard time) is how a market vendor would set an appointment, not 9:00.

Convert 9am Dodoma time to London

Sources

• IANA Time Zone Database
• Tanzania Meteorological Authority (TMA)
• Coulson, Andrew. Tanzania: A Political Economy. Oxford University Press, 1982.