Autumn branches. Photo: Tsuyoshi Kozu / Unsplash

Time News 24 October 2026 2 min read

Sunday 25 October 2026: Clocks go back one hour in Europe

Summer time ends at the same moment in most of Europe. The USA and Canada follow a week later.

At a glance

When Sunday 25 October 2026, 01:00 UTC
Change Clocks back 1 hour
Where EU, UK and most of Europe
Next change Sunday 28 March 2027
Time zones

Summer time ends in Europe on Sunday 25 October 2026. At 01:00 UTC, the clocks go back one hour, at the same moment in most European countries. That night is one hour longer: an extra hour of sleep.

What time do the clocks go back?

Big Ben clock tower in London, with a red phone box and a red bus — Big Ben in London. On Sunday, the UK goes back to GMT.

Most countries change at the same moment, so the local time of the change depends on the time zone:

UK, Ireland and Portugal: 02:00 becomes 01:00.
Central Europe, for example France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Poland, Sweden and Norway: 03:00 becomes 02:00.
Eastern Europe, that is Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Bulgaria, Greece, Cyprus and most of Ukraine: 04:00 becomes 03:00.

Most phones and computers change by themselves. Wall clocks, ovens and car clocks need to be changed by hand.

Who keeps the same time?

Iceland, Belarus, Russia and Turkey do not change their clocks. Athens and Istanbul, for example, had the same time all summer. From Sunday, Istanbul is one hour ahead.

One week with a smaller time difference to the USA

The USA and Canada turn their clocks back one week later, on Sunday 1 November 2026. For that one week, North America is one hour closer to Europe than usual:

New York is 4 hours behind London, not 5.
New York is 5 hours behind Paris and Berlin, not 6.
Los Angeles is 7 hours behind London, not 8.

So a weekly call set in New York time starts one hour earlier in Europe that week. The Meeting Time Planner shows the hours that suit both sides.

Asia and Australia: one hour further ahead

Most of Asia does not change its clocks, so from Sunday, Dubai, Delhi, Beijing and Tokyo are one hour further ahead of Europe. Sydney and Auckland are on their own summer time, so the gap grows there too: from Sunday, Sydney is 11 hours ahead of London, not 10.

Will Europe stop changing clocks?

Orange autumn leaves on the grass in the sun — Autumn leaves. From Sunday, evenings get dark one hour earlier.

Not yet. In 2018 the European Commission proposed ending the changes, after 84% of the 4.6 million people who answered its survey said they wanted that. The European Parliament voted for the plan in 2019. But the EU countries have not agreed whether to keep summer time or winter time all year, so the plan is still waiting in the Council of the EU.

In October 2025, Spain's prime minister Pedro Sánchez called again for an end to the changes. In February 2026, the European Commission started a new study on what ending them would mean, with results due by the end of 2026. Until the EU decides, the clocks keep changing twice a year.

Next change: Sunday 28 March 2027

Summer time starts again on Sunday 28 March 2027, when the clocks go forward one hour at 01:00 UTC.

This year's change is as early as it can be. The last Sunday of October always falls between the 25th and the 31st. It last fell on the 25th in 2020, and the next time will be in 2037.