End of DST in Europe 2021
By Anne Buckle. Published 22-Sep-2021
On Sunday, October 31, 2021, clocks will be set back 1 hour in most of Europe as Daylight Saving Time (DST) ends.
The colored areas with stripes will change their clocks on October 31, 2021.
©timeanddate.com
When Do Clocks Change in Europe?
Clocks in most European countries are turned back by 1 hour on October 31, 2021 at 01:00 UTC. Since Europe spans several time zones, the switch occurs at different local times (see table below).
DST in Europe starts again on Sunday, March 27, 2022.
As always, the US will end DST a week after Europe, on November 7, 2021.
The EU Wants to Remove DST
European countries' frustrations with the seasonal clock change—Daylight Saving Time (DST)—led the European Parliament to draft a law to remove DST in the European Union permanently.
The draft law, issued in 2018, proposes that 2021 would be the last time EU Member States and affiliated countries follow the seasonal clock change. For this reason, all subsequent clock changes in European nations are marked as preliminary on timeanddate.com.
Negotiations have not yet started in the European Council, making it very unlikely for the law to apply in 2021 or any time soon. Europe, like the rest of the world, is still in the throes of the coronavirus pandemic.
Time Change in Europe
Time changes in Europe are synchronized. According to the current EU rules, DST starts on the last Sunday of March and ends on the last Sunday of October. Participating countries are:
- The European Union (EU), including France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Poland, and Bulgaria.
- Most other European countries, including the United Kingdom, Norway, and Switzerland.
Upcoming DST changes worldwide
European countries that do not have DST include Russia, Iceland, and Belarus.
DST End: European Local Times
| Time Zone during DST | Local Time of DST End | Time Zone after DST (standard time) |
|---|---|---|
British Summer Time (BST) used in the UK during summer. UTC offset: +1 hour | DST ends at 02:00 (2 am) local time. | UTC offset: None |
Irish Standard Time (IST) used in Ireland during summer. UTC offset: +1 hour | DST ends at 02:00 (2 am) local time. | UTC offset: None |
Western European Summer Time (WEST) observed in Portugal, the Faroe Islands, and the Canary Islands. UTC offset: +1 hour | DST ends at 02:00 (2 am) local time. | UTC offset: None |
Central European Summer Time (CEST), used in countries including France, Germany, Austria, Italy, Switzerland, Norway, Poland, Hungary, and Spain. UTC offset: +2 hours | DST ends at 03:00 (3 am) local time. | UTC offset: +1 hour |
Eastern European Summer Time (EEST), observed in countries including Bulgaria, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Latvia, Romania, and most areas in Ukraine. UTC offset: +3 hours | DST ends at 04:00 (4 am) local time. | UTC offset: +2 hours |
Most of the western parts of Russia and some parts of Ukraine are in the Moscow time zone, Moscow Standard Time (MSK). UTC offset: UTC +3 hours |