When does daylight saving time start and end in 2026?
If you just want the dates: in the United States, DST in 2026 starts at 2:00 AM on Sunday, March 8, and ends at 2:00 AM on Sunday, November 1. In the European Union, DST starts at 1:00 AM UTC on Sunday, March 29, and ends at 1:00 AM UTC on Sunday, October 25.
The full schedule for every country that observes DST is on the DST calendar. The rest of this post covers the variations.
United States and Canada — 2026
DST follows the same rule across both countries (with some local exemptions):
- Spring forward: Sunday, March 8, 2026 at 2:00 AM local time. Clocks jump from 1:59:59 directly to 3:00:00.
- Fall back: Sunday, November 1, 2026 at 2:00 AM local time. Clocks jump from 1:59:59 back to 1:00:00 (the hour from 1:00–1:59 happens twice).
US exemptions. Hawaii and most of Arizona (except the Navajo Nation reservation) don't observe DST. They stay on standard time year-round.
Canada exemptions. Most of Saskatchewan, parts of British Columbia, parts of Quebec, parts of Ontario, and Yukon (which moved to permanent Mountain Standard Time in 2020) don't observe DST.
European Union and United Kingdom — 2026
The EU and UK both shift simultaneously, anchored to UTC:
- Spring forward: Sunday, March 29, 2026 at 1:00 AM UTC.
- Fall back: Sunday, October 25, 2026 at 1:00 AM UTC.
In local time, this is 2:00 AM Central European Time (most of mainland Europe) or 1:00 AM in the UK. The UK's "GMT" becomes "BST" (British Summer Time) on the spring date and reverts on the fall date.
Note for international meetings. The EU shifts 3 weeks after the US in spring, and the US shifts 1 week before the EU in fall. During these gap weeks, the time difference between New York and London is 4 hours instead of the usual 5. The meeting planner handles this automatically.
Southern hemisphere — 2026
The southern hemisphere's DST runs opposite to the north (their summer is December):
| Country/region | DST starts (spring forward) | DST ends (fall back) |
|----------------|------------------------------|----------------------|
| Australia (NSW, VIC, ACT, SA, TAS) | Sun Oct 4, 2026 at 2 AM | Sun Apr 5, 2026 at 3 AM |
| New Zealand | Sun Sep 27, 2026 at 2 AM | Sun Apr 5, 2026 at 3 AM |
| Chile (mainland) | Sun Sep 6, 2026 at midnight | Sun Apr 4, 2027 at midnight |
| Paraguay | Sun Oct 4, 2026 at midnight | Sun Mar 22, 2026 at midnight |
Australia exemptions. Queensland, Western Australia, and the Northern Territory don't observe DST.
Brazil. Brazil abolished DST in 2019 and has not reinstated it.
Countries that don't observe DST in 2026
Most of the world doesn't observe DST. Notable countries that skip it:
- Most of Asia: India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, China, Japan, Indonesia, Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, South Korea, North Korea, Taiwan, Sri Lanka, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Iraq, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait
- Most of Africa: Egypt (since 2024), South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, Ethiopia, Ghana, Tanzania
- Most of South America: Brazil, Peru, Colombia, Venezuela, Argentina, Uruguay, Bolivia
- Russia and former Soviet states: Russia (since 2011), Belarus, Kazakhstan, most others
- Mexico: Most of the country abolished DST in 2022
Iran observed DST until 2022 and has now abolished it. Egypt reintroduced DST briefly in 2023 and abolished it again in 2024. Mexico's northern border states (Tijuana, Ciudad Juárez, etc.) still observe DST to align with the US.
What "spring forward" actually means
At 2:00 AM local time on the spring DST date, your clock instantly advances to 3:00 AM. The hour from 2:00 to 2:59 doesn't exist that day in your zone. If you have an alarm set for 2:30 AM, it doesn't fire. If a `cron` job is scheduled for 2:30 AM, behavior depends on the cron implementation — most skip the run entirely; some run it at 3:30 AM.
The reverse happens at 2:00 AM on the fall date: your clock jumps back to 1:00 AM. The hour from 1:00 to 1:59 happens twice. Anything scheduled at 1:30 AM either runs twice (cron) or once (modern schedulers that track UTC under the hood).
Watching for DST gotchas
Before each DST transition, double-check:
- Recurring meetings. Anchor them to UTC if they cross continents — see the meeting-planner guide.
- Cron jobs. Anything scheduled for 2:00–2:59 AM may misbehave. Test before the date.
- Smart-home schedules. Many smart thermostats and lighting systems handle DST, but a few don't. Check the day after the change.
- Paper schedules. Anything printed (gym class schedules, transit timetables) may not have been updated for DST. Confirm digitally.
- International conference calls. The EU-US gap weeks are when most "wait, did you know it's a different hour now?" emails happen.
Permanent DST in 2026?
Several US states have laws on the books to switch to permanent DST (no biannual switch). They require federal approval to take effect, which has not happened. The Sunshine Protection Act has passed the US Senate twice (2022, 2024) but failed in the House each time. As of 2026, no state has been able to make permanent DST a reality.
The EU voted in 2018 to abolish biannual switching, leaving each member state to choose permanent winter time or permanent summer time. COVID and ongoing political coordination have stalled the implementation. As of 2026, the EU still observes DST normally.
FAQ
Why does the EU shift later than the US in spring?
The US uses the second Sunday of March; the EU uses the last Sunday of March. The dates were set independently and just happen to differ by 2–3 weeks. There's no underlying technical or astronomical reason — it's purely a difference in when the laws were written.
What time should I set my clocks tonight?
If today is March 7, 2026, set your clocks forward one hour before going to bed (or do it when you wake up — most phones and computers handle it automatically). If today is October 31, 2026, set your clocks back one hour. Most modern devices auto-adjust; mechanical and battery clocks need to be done manually.
Why is the change at 2 AM and not midnight?
Because changing the date is harder than changing the hour. By picking 2 AM, the date stays unambiguous — March 8 just has a missing hour in the middle, rather than a missing midnight. Midnight DST changes were tried in some early implementations and caused too many edge cases.
Will DST change again in 2027?
Most likely yes — the rules are stable in the US, EU, UK, and Australia. The schedule for 2027 follows the same pattern: second Sunday of March (US), last Sunday of March (EU). The DST calendar shows the dates for upcoming years.
How do I disable DST notifications on my phone?
You generally can't — modern phones treat DST changes as automatic time-zone events and apply them silently. If you want to opt out manually, set your phone's time zone to a fixed-offset zone like `Etc/GMT+5` (which is UTC-5 with no DST), but this affects how every app displays time.
What if my country abolishes DST mid-year?
The change usually takes effect at a specific announced date and DST simply doesn't shift on the next scheduled date. Operating systems update via tzdata releases and most modern devices apply the new rule within 1–2 days. Older or air-gapped systems may need manual updates.
Bottom line
DST 2026 in the US: spring forward March 8, fall back November 1. EU: spring forward March 29, fall back October 25. Most of Asia, Africa, and South America don't observe DST at all. The full schedule for every country is on the DST calendar — bookmark it if you coordinate across multiple regions.