Daylight Saving Time 2026: Which Countries Change Their Clocks and When
In 2026 the US sprang forward on March 8 and falls back on November 1. The UK and EU moved forward on March 29 and move back on October 25. Several Canadian provinces stop changing their clocks this autumn. India, China, Japan and most of Asia and Africa keep the same time all year.
On this page
DST 2026 Quick Reference: Exact Dates by Region
| Region / Country | Spring Forward (Clocks +1) | Fall Back (Clocks -1) | Standard Time | Summer Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States (most states) | Sun, March 8, 2026 at 2:00 AM | Sun, November 1, 2026 at 2:00 AM | EST/CST/MST/PST | EDT/CDT/MDT/PDT |
| Canada (most of Ontario, Quebec and Nunavut; Atlantic provinces; Newfoundland and Labrador) | Sun, March 8, 2026 at 2:00 AM | Sun, November 1, 2026 at 2:00 AM | EST/AST/NST (CST/MST in parts of Nunavut) | EDT/ADT/NDT (CDT/MDT in parts of Nunavut) |
| Canada (British Columbia, Alberta, Northwest Territories, Manitoba) | Sun, March 8, 2026 at 2:00 AM (their last change) | No fall back: clocks stay put from November 2026 | Permanent: BC UTC-7, Alberta and NWT UTC-6, Manitoba UTC-5 | |
| United Kingdom | Sun, March 29, 2026 at 1:00 AM | Sun, October 25, 2026 at 2:00 AM | GMT (UTC+0) | BST (UTC+1) |
| European Union | Sun, March 29, 2026 at 01:00 UTC (2:00 AM CET, 3:00 AM EET) | Sun, October 25, 2026 at 01:00 UTC (3:00 AM CEST, 4:00 AM EEST) | CET (UTC+1) / EET (UTC+2) | CEST (UTC+2) / EEST (UTC+3) |
| Australia (SE states) | Sun, October 4, 2026 at 2:00 AM | Sun, April 5, 2026 at 3:00 AM | AEST (UTC+10) | AEDT (UTC+11) |
| New Zealand | Sun, September 27, 2026 at 2:00 AM | Sun, April 5, 2026 at 3:00 AM | NZST (UTC+12) | NZDT (UTC+13) |
| Egypt | Fri, April 24, 2026 at 12:00 AM | End of Thu, October 29, 2026 (midnight) | EET (UTC+2) | EEST (UTC+3) |
| Israel | Fri, March 27, 2026 at 2:00 AM | Sun, October 25, 2026 at 2:00 AM | IST (UTC+2) | IDT (UTC+3) |
Not on this list: Mexico stopped daylight saving time after October 2022, except for municipalities along the US border, which follow the US dates. Brazil has not changed its clocks since February 2019. Paraguay stayed on UTC-3 after October 2024.
Countries That Never Change Their Clocks
Most countries in Asia and Africa, and several in South America, use one fixed UTC offset all year. That is why IST, JST, SGT and most other Asian time zones never shift, even when their trading partners' clocks move. The lists below are examples, not a complete list.
Asia (no DST)
- India - IST UTC+5:30 (fixed)
- China - CST UTC+8 (fixed)
- Japan - JST UTC+9 (fixed)
- South Korea - KST UTC+9 (fixed)
- Singapore - SGT UTC+8 (fixed)
- Thailand - ICT UTC+7 (fixed)
- Indonesia - WIB/WITA/WIT (fixed)
- Vietnam - ICT UTC+7 (fixed)
- Malaysia - MYT UTC+8 (fixed)
- Philippines - PHT UTC+8 (fixed)
- Pakistan - PKT UTC+5 (fixed)
- Bangladesh - BST UTC+6 (fixed)
- UAE - GST UTC+4 (fixed)
- Saudi Arabia - AST UTC+3 (fixed)
Africa and Middle East (no DST)
- Nigeria - WAT UTC+1 (fixed)
- South Africa - SAST UTC+2 (fixed)
- Kenya - EAT UTC+3 (fixed)
- Ghana - GMT UTC+0 (fixed)
- Ethiopia - EAT UTC+3 (fixed)
- Tanzania - EAT UTC+3 (fixed)
- Turkey - UTC+3 (fixed since September 2016)
- Jordan - UTC+3 (fixed since October 2022)
US States with No DST
- Arizona - MST UTC-7 (fixed year-round, except the Navajo Nation which does observe DST)
- Hawaii - HST UTC-10 (fixed year-round)
Arizona note: Phoenix stays on MST all year. During US summer, when most of the country is on MDT (UTC-6), Arizona is on MST (UTC-7), making it 1 hour behind Denver and equal to PDT/Los Angeles during those months.
Americas and Pacific (no DST)
- Jamaica - EST UTC-5 (fixed)
- Trinidad and Tobago - AST UTC-4 (fixed)
- Panama - EST UTC-5 (fixed)
- Colombia - COT UTC-5 (fixed)
- Peru - PET UTC-5 (fixed)
- Bolivia - BOT UTC-4 (fixed)
- Venezuela - VET UTC-4 (fixed)
- Paraguay - UTC-3 (fixed since October 2024)
- Queensland, Australia - AEST UTC+10 (fixed)
- Western Australia - AWST UTC+8 (fixed)
How DST Affects Time Zone Converters
When one country observes DST and another does not, the time gap between them changes by one hour on DST transition dates. This is why you cannot hardcode a time difference and expect it to stay accurate year-round.
India (IST) to US East Coast (EST/EDT)
IST is always UTC+5:30. EST is UTC-5 and EDT is UTC-4. So the gap is 10 hours 30 minutes when the US is on EST (winter) and 9 hours 30 minutes when the US is on EDT (summer). The gap changes on March 8 and November 1, the US DST transition dates.
UK (GMT/BST) to US East Coast (EST/EDT)
The gap is usually 5 hours. But because the US springs forward 3 weeks before the UK does (March 8 vs March 29), the gap drops to 4 hours for those 3 weeks in late March. After the UK moves to BST on March 29, the gap returns to 5 hours. In autumn, the UK falls back on October 25 and the US on November 1, so the gap is 4 hours again for that one week.
India (IST) to UK (GMT/BST)
IST is 5.5 hours ahead of GMT in winter and 4.5 hours ahead of BST in UK summer. India does not change its clocks, so only the UK's clock change on March 29 and October 25 affects this gap.
Countries That Have Recently Ended or May End DST
Several countries and provinces have stopped changing their clocks in recent years, and some legislatures are still debating it.
Western and central Canada (ending DST in 2026)
British Columbia, Alberta, the Northwest Territories and Manitoba all sprang forward on March 8, 2026 and will not fall back on November 1. From then on, BC stays on UTC-7, Alberta and the NWT on UTC-6, and Manitoba on UTC-5 all year. Saskatchewan and Yukon already kept one time all year. As of late September 2026 it was not yet known whether parts of northwestern Ontario that usually keep Manitoba's time will follow Manitoba.
Paraguay (ended DST in 2024)
Paraguay sprang forward on October 6, 2024 and then stopped changing its clocks. It is now on UTC-3 all year.
Mexico (ended DST in 2022)
Mexico stopped observing daylight saving time after October 2022. The exception is a strip of municipalities along the US border, which still change their clocks on the US dates.
Turkey (ended DST in 2016)
Turkey has stayed on UTC+3 all year since September 2016 and no longer changes its clocks.
Russia (no clock changes since 2011)
Russia stopped changing its clocks in 2011 and kept permanent "summer time" (UTC+4 in Moscow). On October 26, 2014 it switched back to permanent standard time. Moscow has been on UTC+3 all year since then.
European Union (repeal stalled)
In 2018 the European Commission proposed ending seasonal clock changes. The European Parliament voted for it on 26 March 2019, but EU governments in the Council have not agreed and the file is blocked. After a Parliament debate in October 2025, the Commission decided to carry out a further study. Until a new law is agreed, EU countries keep changing on the last Sunday in March and the last Sunday in October.
United States (Sunshine Protection Act)
The Sunshine Protection Act would make daylight saving time permanent. The Senate passed a version by unanimous consent on March 15, 2022, but the House did not vote on it before that Congress ended. On July 14, 2026 the House passed the Sunshine Protection Act of 2025 (H.R. 139) by 308 votes to 117. The Senate referred it to its Commerce Committee on July 15, 2026. It is not law, so US clocks still fall back on November 1, 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions
When does the US spring forward in 2026?
The US moves forward to daylight saving time on Sunday, March 8, 2026, at 2:00 AM local time. Clocks jump to 3:00 AM, meaning there is no 2:00 AM to 2:59 AM that night. This affects most US states except Arizona and Hawaii, which stay on standard time all year.
When does the UK spring forward in 2026?
The UK moves to British Summer Time (BST, UTC+1) on Sunday, March 29, 2026, at 1:00 AM GMT. Clocks jump to 2:00 AM. The UK returns to GMT (UTC+0) on Sunday, October 25, 2026, at 2:00 AM BST (which becomes 1:00 AM GMT).
Does India have daylight saving time?
No. India Standard Time (IST, UTC+5:30) is fixed year-round and India does not observe daylight saving time. IST does not change in spring or fall. This means the time gap between India and countries that do observe DST (like the US or UK) shifts by one hour on DST transition dates, even though India's clocks stay the same.
What happens to time zone converters during DST transitions?
A converter that uses named time zones (such as "America/New_York" or "Europe/London") applies the DST rules for the date you enter. The risky periods are the weeks when only one side has changed, such as the US-UK gap in March, and places whose rules have just changed, such as British Columbia, Alberta, the Northwest Territories and Manitoba in November 2026. Devices and apps with out-of-date time zone data can show the wrong time there.
Why do the US and Europe change their clocks on different dates?
The Energy Policy Act of 2005 moved the US start date to the second Sunday of March (previously the first Sunday of April) and the end date to the first Sunday of November, from 2007, with the stated aim of reducing energy use. Canadian provinces that observe DST adopted the same dates. The EU's rules, set in Directive 2000/84/EC, use the last Sunday of March and the last Sunday of October. In 2026 this created a 3-week gap in spring (March 8 to 29) and a 1-week gap in autumn (October 25 to November 1).
Sources
- IANA – Time zone database (tzdata 2026e) release notes
- IANA – Time Zone Database
- NIST – Daylight Saving Time Rules
- GOV.UK – When do the clocks change?
- European Parliament – Legislative Train: Discontinuing seasonal changes of time
- Government of British Columbia – B.C.'s new time zone (Pacific time)
- Government of Alberta – Alberta's new time system (ABT)
- Government of the Northwest Territories – Northwest Territories ends Seasonal Time Change
- Province of Manitoba – Manitoba Will Move to Permanent Daylight Saving Time
- NSW Government – Daylight saving in NSW: when it starts and ends in 2026 and 2027
- New Zealand Government (govt.nz) – Daylight saving in NZ
- Congress.gov – S.623 (117th Congress), Sunshine Protection Act of 2021
- Congress.gov – H.R.139 (119th Congress), Sunshine Protection Act of 2025
See Live DST Status for Any Country
Our converter automatically applies the correct DST offset for any date you choose. No manual calculation needed.
DST affects your team meetings too. See Remote Work Timezone Guide for how the March US-UK DST gap shifts your recurring meeting window by one hour for three weeks each year.