Since October 2014 Russia has observed "permanent winter time". Russia and Belarus observed "permanent summer time" between March 2011 and October 2014. The Benelux countries should also theoretically use GMT. The general result is a solar noon which is much later than clock noon, and later sunrises and sunsets than should theoretically happen. However, for example Spain (almost entirely in the Western hemisphere) and France (almost entirely west of 7.5☎, as illustrated in the map below) should theoretically use UTC, as they did before the Second World War. Based on solar time, CET would range from 7.5 to 22.5☎. In Europe, the widespread use of Central European Time (CET) causes major variations in some areas from solar time. However, due to geographical and cultural factors, it is not practical to divide the world so evenly, and actual time zones may differ significantly from those based purely on longitude. The world could in theory be divided into 24 time zones, each of 15 degrees of longitude. The time zones actually in use in Europe differ significantly from uniform zoning based purely on longitude, as used for example under the nautical time system. Most European countries use summer time and harmonise their summer time adjustments see Summer time in Europe for details. ▉ ▉ ▉ ▉ Pale colours: Standard time observed all yearĮurope spans seven primary time zones (from UTC−01:00 to UTC+05:00), excluding summer time offsets (five of them can be seen on the map, with one further-western zone containing the Azores, and one further-eastern zone spanning the European part of Kazakhstan). Western European Summer Time / British Summer Time / Irish Standard Time ( UTC+1)Įastern European Time / Kaliningrad Time ( UTC+2)Īrmenia Time / Azerbaijan Time / Georgia Time / Samara Time ( UTC+4) Western European Time / Greenwich Mean Time ( UTC) Note: The UK is not on GMT during the DST period.Time zones in Europe Time in Europe: Light Blue While Ireland switches from GMT to Irish Standard Time (IST), the UK's DST time zone is called British Summer Time (BST). Iceland does not observe DST so it remains on GMT all year round. Iceland, Ireland, and the United Kingdom observe GMT as their standard time. * Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) has the same time as Western European Time (WET). The clocks move back from 04:00 (4 am) to 03:00 (3 am) local time. Georgia: Only Abkhazia and South OssetiaĪt 01:00 (1 am) local time, the clocks move forward to 02:00 (2 am) local time, except in Iceland.Īt 02:00 (2 am) local time, the clocks move forward to 03:00 (3 am) local time.Īt 03:00 (3 am) local time, the clocks move forward to 04:00 (4 am) local time.Īt 02:00 (2 am) local time, the clocks move back to 01:00 (1 am) local time, except in Iceland.Īt 03:00 (3 am) local time, the clocks move back to 02:00 (2 am) local time.Ukraine: Only Crimea, Luhansk, and Donetsk.Ukraine (except Crimea, Luhansk, and Donetsk).Western European Time (WET) and Greenwich Mean Time (GMT)*. There are four corresponding DST time zones. Upcoming DST changes worldwide How Many Time Zones Are There in Europe?įrom Iceland in the west to western parts of Russia in the east, the European continent spans four standard time zones. To find out local times for all European countries, please see the table below or enter a country into our DST search. For example, DST starts at 02:00 (2 am) local standard time in countries like France and Germany, while Finland and Greece advance their clocks at 03:00 (3 am) local time. While the switch occurs at the same moment in all participating countries, local times vary because Europe has several time zones. History of DST in Europe DST Starts and Ends at Different Local Times In the map, all colored areas with diagonal lines follow the schedule. Switzerland follows the same schedule although the country is not part of the EEA. It includes all countries in the European Economic Area (EEA), except Iceland. The Daylight Saving Time (DST) period in Europe runs from 01:00 UTC (Coordinated Universal Time) on the last Sunday of March to 01:00 UTC on the last Sunday of October every year. Business Date to Date (exclude holidays)Ĭolored areas with diagonal lines follow the European DST schedule.ĭST might become history in the EU DST in Europe.