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DST Starts in Europe Sunday, March 31, 2019

Most of Europe sets the clocks forward one hour on Sunday, March 31, 2019, when Daylight Saving Time (DST) starts.

Update: European Union Ready to Scrap DST

On March 26, 2019, the European Parliament voted in favor of removing Daylight Saving Time (DST) permanently.

A map of time zones and DST in Europe.

DST is also known as Summer Time.

©timeanddate.com

Most countries in Europe spring forward one hour at 01:00 UTC. Local time for the change is different in each time zone; see the table below for more details.

The EU Pushes to Scrap DST

In September 2018, the European Commission issued a draft directive to permanently scrap DST in the EU.

In a public survey, more than 80% of 4.6 million respondents voted to put an end to seasonal clock changes altogether, but the EU Member States called for more time before putting an end to the practice.

More Light in the Evening

In local time, sunrise and sunset will be about one hour later on Sunday, March 31, 2019 than the day before, resulting in more daylight in the evening.

Changes at the Same Time

European countries synchronize their DST, which starts on the last Sunday of March and ends on the last Sunday of October. Participating countries are:

European Countries Without DST

Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Iceland, Russia, and Turkey don't use DST but remain on standard time all year.

In 2016, Turkey decided to end DST permanently. The Turkish occupied territory of Northern Cyprus still follows the rest of Cyprus and will set the clocks forward one hour on March 31.

Local Times in Europe for DST Start

Time Zone During DSTDST StartsStandard Time Zone (no DST)

British Summer Time (BST), used in the UK during summer.

UTC offset: +1 hour

DST starts at 01:00 (1 am) local time.
Clocks are set ahead 1 hour to 02:00 (2 am).

Greenwich Mean Time (GMT)

UTC offset: None

Irish Standard Time (IST), used in Ireland during the summer.

UTC offset: +1 hour

DST starts at 01:00 (1 am) local time.
Clocks are set ahead 1 hour to 02:00 (2 am).

Greenwich Mean Time (GMT)

UTC offset: None

Western European Summer Time (WEST), used in the Canary Islands, the Faroe Islands, and Portugal.

UTC offset: +1 hour

DST starts at 01:00 (1 am) local time. Clocks are set ahead 1 hour to 02:00 (2 am).

Western European Time (WET)

UTC offset: None

Central European Summer Time (CEST), used in countries including Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Hungary, Norway, Poland, Spain, and Switzerland.

UTC offset: +2 hours

DST starts at 02:00 (2 am) local time, when clocks are set ahead 1 hour to 03:00 (3 am).

Central European Time (CET)

UTC offset: +1 hour

Eastern European Summer Time (EEST), used in countries including Bulgaria, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Latvia, Lithuania, and Romania.

UTC offset: +3 hours

DST starts at 03:00 (3 am) local time, when clocks are set ahead 1 hour to 04:00 (4 am).

Eastern European Time (EET)

UTC offset: +2 hours