Daylight Saving Time 2026: Every Key Change You Need to Know

In 2026, many countries will move clocks forward in spring and back in autumn, altering the time difference between major cities for part of the year. Anyone coordinating global meetings or travel needs to know these dates in advance to avoid missed calls and arrival-time confusion.

When Clocks Change in the UK and EU

In the United Kingdom, Daylight Saving Time starts on Sunday 29 March 2026, when clocks move forward from 1:00 AM to 2:00 AM local time. DST ends on Sunday 25 October 2026, when clocks move back from 2:00 AM to 1:00 AM and London returns from UTC+1 to UTC+0.

Most European Union countries follow a similar pattern, switching to summer time on the last Sunday in March and back to standard time on the last Sunday in October. These shifts change the local offset from UTC but keep internal schedules consistent for residents.

You can confirm London’s current offset by checking its live time on exact-time.now, which automatically reflects whether GMT or British Summer Time is in effect.

US Daylight Saving Time Dates for 2026

In the United States, New York and other Eastern Time cities begin DST on Sunday 8 March 2026, moving clocks forward from 2:00 AM to 3:00 AM. Daylight saving then ends on Sunday 1 November 2026, when clocks are set back one hour at 2:00 AM to return to standard time.

During DST, New York operates on Eastern Daylight Time (EDT, UTC-4), and outside DST it uses Eastern Standard Time (EST, UTC-5). The live New York time on exact-time.now always incorporates these transitions, so the displayed offset is accurate for the current date.

Why These Shifts Matter for Scheduling

Because the US and Europe change clocks on different dates, there are short windows in March and October when the time difference between cities such as London and New York temporarily changes by one hour. For example, during part of March 2026, New York will be only four hours behind London instead of the usual five.

When planning recurring international meetings or flight connections, it is safest to verify the current local time in each city on exact-time.now rather than relying solely on remembered offsets. This avoids the common error of assuming time differences are fixed when DST has just shifted them.