Clock Change in Portugal: When It Happens, With a Countdown
Clock change in Portugal: countdown and dates to 2030
The clocks change in Portugal on Sunday, 25 October 2026: at 02:00 they go back to 01:00 and winter time returns, with one extra hour of sleep. Here is the countdown, every date to 2030, how the Azores fit in, where the EU promise to end clock changes stands, and how to survive the March one.
By Elijah5 MINKEY FACTS
Next change
Sunday, 25 October 2026: at 02:00 clocks go back to 01:00
What you get
One extra hour of sleep; night falls an hour earlier
The rule
Last Sunday of March and October, across the whole European Union
Azores
Change at the same instant: on the local clock, from 01:00 to 00:00
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DIAS EM FALTA
HORAS EM FALTA
02:0001:00
Os relógios ATRASAM uma hora: a noite tem 25 horas e dorme-se mais uma. Regressa a hora de inverno (WET) e anoitece uma hora mais cedo.
Os relógios ADIANTAM uma hora: a noite tem 23 horas e dorme-se menos uma. Começa a hora de verão (WEST) e os fins de tarde esticam.
Açores: mesmo instante, o relógio local salta 01:00 → 00:00
How this works
Twice a year, the whole European Union changes its clocks at the same instant: on the last Sunday of March and the last Sunday of October. Here is how the rule works, what exactly happens to your clock, and why the end of the changes keeps being postponed.
- 1The European rule: two Sundays a yearDirective 2000/84/CE sets summer time across the whole European Union: it starts on the last Sunday of March and ends on the last Sunday of October, always at 01:00 UTC, the same instant from Helsinki to Lisbon. In mainland Portugal and Madeira that corresponds to 01:00/02:00 local time; in the Azores, one hour behind, 00:00/01:00.
- 2October: clocks go back (you gain an hour)In the small hours of the last Sunday of October, when mainland clocks hit 02:00, they go back to 01:00. The night is 25 hours long: you sleep one more. Winter time returns (WET, same as Greenwich), dawn comes earlier and night falls an hour earlier. That is the change of 25 October 2026.
- 3March: clocks go forward (you lose an hour)In the small hours of the last Sunday of March the opposite happens: at 01:00 on the mainland, clocks jump to 02:00. The night is 23 hours long. Summer time begins (WEST, UTC+1), with long evenings that stretch past 21:00 by June.
- 4What updates itself and what does notPhones, computers, tablets, connected TVs and smartwatches update themselves overnight. The oven, the microwave, the car radio, wall clocks and some thermostats and irrigation timers do not: that is the classic Sunday-morning round. In October, use the round as a reminder to test the smoke detectors.
Every clock change to 2030
Times shown for mainland Portugal and Madeira; in the Azores each jump happens one hour earlier on the local clock (00:00/01:00). The instant is the same across the whole EU.
| DATA | CLOCKS | DIRECTION | SLEEP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sunday, 25 October 2026 | 02:00 → 01:00 | back 1 h (winter time) | +1 hour |
| Sunday, 28 March 2027 | 01:00 → 02:00 | forward 1 h (summer time) | −1 hour |
| Sunday, 31 October 2027 | 02:00 → 01:00 | back 1 h (winter time) | +1 hour |
| Sunday, 26 March 2028 | 01:00 → 02:00 | forward 1 h (summer time) | −1 hour |
| Sunday, 29 October 2028 | 02:00 → 01:00 | back 1 h (winter time) | +1 hour |
| Sunday, 25 March 2029 | 01:00 → 02:00 | forward 1 h (summer time) | −1 hour |
| Sunday, 28 October 2029 | 02:00 → 01:00 | back 1 h (winter time) | +1 hour |
| Sunday, 31 March 2030 | 01:00 → 02:00 | forward 1 h (summer time) | −1 hour |
| Sunday, 27 October 2030 | 02:00 → 01:00 | back 1 h (winter time) | +1 hour |
If the EU abolition process ever concludes, the dates after the decision fall away; until then, this is the law.
Will this be the last change? The EU saga
In 2018, after a public consultation with 4.6 million answers (84% in favour of ending the changes), the European Commission proposed abolishing seasonal clock changes. The European Parliament approved it in 2019, with 2021 pencilled in as the last year. Then the file died quietly in the Council: member states never agreed on whether each country should keep permanent summer or permanent winter time, and a patchwork of neighbouring countries on different clocks scared everyone. In February 2026 the Commission relaunched the debate with a new impact study, due by the end of 2026. Until the Council and Parliament agree and each country transposes the decision, the twice-yearly ritual continues, and Portugal would still have to choose its own permanent time: permanent winter time keeps normal sunrises, while permanent summer time would push January sunrises in Lisbon toward 09:00.
A short history of Portuguese clocks
- 1912: Portugal adota legalmente a hora de Greenwich (UTC+0) no continente.
- 1916: primeira hora de verão, a 17 de junho, medida de guerra para poupar energia, semanas depois de a ideia se estrear na Alemanha (abril) e no Reino Unido (maio).
- 1992-1996: Portugal experimenta a hora da Europa Central (a de Espanha). Manhãs de inverno escuras até perto das 09:00, queixas das escolas e nenhuma poupança mensurável devolvem-nos a Greenwich em 1996.
- Desde 1996: WET no inverno, WEST no verão no continente e na Madeira; Açores uma hora atrás. O Observatório Astronómico de Lisboa assegura a hora legal do país.
Frequently asked
When do the clocks change in Portugal in 2026?
The next change is on Sunday, 25 October 2026: at 02:00 on the mainland and in Madeira, clocks go back one hour to 01:00. In the Azores the change runs from 01:00 to 00:00 local time. You gain an hour of sleep and winter time returns. The following change is on 28 March 2027, when clocks go forward to summer time.
Do clocks go back or forward in October?
Back. In October clocks go back one hour (02:00 becomes 01:00) and you sleep an extra hour. In March they go forward (01:00 becomes 02:00) and you sleep one less. The English mnemonic does all the work: «spring forward, fall back».
Why do the clocks change at all?
The idea was born to save energy: shifting an hour of daylight to the end of the day cut lighting use. Portugal first adopted summer time in 1916, during the First World War, and the European Union harmonised the dates so the single market could function (transport, communications and coordinated timetables). Today the energy argument carries little weight (the measured savings are marginal), which is why the EU itself debates ending the changes.
Was the EU not going to abolish the clock change?
It was, and the process is still hanging. The European Commission proposed ending the changes in 2018 and the European Parliament voted in favour in 2019, but member states never agreed in the Council on which permanent time to keep. In February 2026 the Commission relaunched the debate with a new impact study, expected by the end of 2026. Until there is a decision and national transposition, the current rule stands: count on changes in 2027 and probably beyond.
Do the Azores and Madeira change at the same time?
Yes, at the same physical instant: 01:00 UTC. Madeira shares mainland time (WET/WEST), so its clocks make the same jump from 02:00 to 01:00. The Azores live one hour behind the mainland all year round (UTC-1 in winter, UTC+0 in summer), and their local jump runs from 01:00 to 00:00. The Azores-mainland gap always stays at one hour.
Why do Portugal and Spain keep different times?
History, not geography. Portugal keeps the time of the Greenwich meridian, which runs practically overhead. Spain, which geographically belongs in the same zone, adopted Central European Time (CET) in 1940 and never moved back. The result: Madrid always runs one hour ahead of Lisbon despite sitting west of Paris. Portugal itself tried living on Spanish time between 1992 and 1996, and gave up: winter sunrises came close to 09:00.
How do I cope with the change?
October is the easy one: an extra hour of sleep and few complaints. March hurts more, especially for small children and early risers: for 2 to 3 days beforehand, go to bed 15 to 20 minutes earlier each day, get morning daylight and avoid screens and caffeine late in the day. Take extra care on the road in the week after the March change: studies show a small rise in morning accidents.
Which is Portugal’s «real» time: summer or winter?
Winter time. The base legal time of mainland Portugal and Madeira is Coordinated Universal Time (WET, Greenwich time); summer time is a temporary +1 hour offset applied between March and October. In the Azores the base legal time is UTC-1. Portugal’s legal time is officially kept by the Observatório Astronómico de Lisboa (Lisbon Astronomical Observatory).
OFFICIAL SOURCES
- Diretiva 2000/84/CE: o regime europeu da hora de verão ↗The legal text setting the last Sundays of March and October, at 01:00 UTC.
- Conselho da UE: seasonal clock changes ↗The official state of play of the process to end clock changes.
- timeanddate.com: mudanças da hora em Lisboa ↗The exact dates and times of each change in Portugal, year by year.
DISCLAIMER
Dates verified against Directive 2000/84/CE (last Sunday of March and October, 01:00 UTC) and timeanddate.com. The table holds for as long as the European Union keeps the current regime: if the abolition process moves forward, future dates may be dropped. This page will be updated if that happens.