Daylight Saving Ends in Europe on October 31, 2010

Many European cities such as Athens, Berlin, London, Moscow, Madrid, Paris, and Rome may refer to DST as “summer time” and will switch back to standard time by moving their clocks back one hour at 1am (01:00) Coordinated Universal Time (UTC).

Moreover, Mexico’s daylight saving schedule also ends on Sunday, October 31, 2010.

It is important to note that there is still talk and debate about time zones or DST in places such as Russia and the UK. timeanddate.com will provide more updates on these issues as the information becomes available.

Daylight Saving Time Ends in Europe

Most countries in Europe will end their DST scheduled at 1am (01:00) UTC on Sunday, October 31, 2010. The European Union (EU) directive states that the EU definitively adopted a synchronized daylight saving time schedule that starts on the last Sunday of March and ends on the last Sunday of October. Iceland which follows UTC/GMT does not observe DST.

Time Zones in Europe

There are four major standard time zones across Europe:

• Western European Time (WET), observed in Portugal, Faroe Islands and the Canary Islands. Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) which is in the same time zone is observed in Iceland, Ireland and United Kingdom’s main islands (England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland). Daylight saving time ends when the clocks move one hour back from 2am (02:00) to 1am (01:00) local time, except in Iceland, which does not observe the daylight saving schedule.

• Central Europe Time (CET), observed in countries including Albania, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark (mainland), France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Kosovo, Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain (mainland), Sweden and Switzerland. Daylight saving time ends when the clocks move one hour back from 3am (03:00) to 2am (02:00) local time.

• Eastern European Time (EET), observed in countries including Belarus, Bulgaria, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Romania, Kaliningrad (Russia), Turkey, Ukraine. Daylight saving ends when the clocks move one hour back from  4am (04:00) to 3am (03:00) local time in most of these places except Kaliningrad, where the clocks turn from 3am (03:00) to 2am (02:00).

• Most of the western parts of Russia extending to Moscow are in the Moscow time zone, Moscow Standard Time (MSK). Daylight saving time ends when the clocks move back from 3am (03:00) to 2am (02:00) local time.

There is more information about Europe’s time zones and DST schedule, as well as a brief history of DST in Europe on our website.

Russia’s Time zone and DST Changes

The Russian government changed the time zones in several locations on March 28, 2010, which brought the total number of time zones in Russia from eleven down to nine. These changes came into effect when most Russian regions moved their clocks forward for DST.

However, the following regions did not adjust for DST in March 2010, so as to reduce their time difference with Moscow and change time zones:

• The Udmurt Republic and the Samara Oblast moved to the same time zone as Moscow (UTC+3), or Moscow Standard Time (MSK). During the daylight saving period, Moscow Daylight Time (MSD), or UTC+4 is used instead of MSK.

• The Kermerovo Oblast moved to the same time zone as Omsk Oblast (UTC+6), or Omsk Time (OMST). During the daylight saving period, Omsk Summer Time (OMSST), or UTC+7 is used instead of OMST.

• The Kamchatka Krai and the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug joined the time zone of Magadan Oblast (UTC+11), or Magadan Time (MAGT). During the daylight saving period, Magadan Summer Time (MAGST), or UTC+12 is used instead of MAGT.

UK Still Considering Single Double Summer Time

It is important to note that the United Kingdom switches from Greenwich Mean Time (GMT, also known as UTC) to British Summer Time (BST) when it starts its daylight saving schedule. The UK does not observe GMT all year round.

Ireland switches from GMT to Irish Summer Time (IST) when daylight saving time starts. However, the term “IST” is not the legal abbreviation to describe Irish Summer Time but it is commonly used. According to Irish law, IST is described as “summer time” during DST, while Irish Standard Time is described as both “standard time” and “winter time”.

The United Kingdom is considering the idea of extending British Summer Time (BST) all year round. The idea of Single Double Summer Time (SDST) would move the clocks in the UK one hour forward (UTC+1) from GMT in the winter and by two hours (UTC+2) in the summer. The Daylight Saving Bill 2010-11 was presented to Parliament in June 2010, and is scheduled for a second reading in December 2010.

At the moment, there is a proposed three-year trial period of SDST to study the cost and benefits of adopting the new DST schedule. This proposal of extending BST for the entire year has been debated by both the general public and politicians alike for years. timeanddate.com will provide more updates on this issue as information becomes available.