Despite the discussions about summer and winter time in Europe, there will almost certainly be time changes for the next several years.
Dates for the upcoming time changes are:
Sunday, 29 March 2026: Time change from CET / winter time to summer time. The clock is put forward from 2:00 a.m. to 3:00 a.m. on Saturday night, making the night an hour shorter. It is dark longer in the morning, but it is light longer in the evening.
Sunday, 25 October 2025: Time change from summer time to CET / winter time. The clock is set back from Saturday to Sunday at 3:00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m., making the night an hour longer. It gets light earlier in the morning, but it is dark earlier in the evening.
Summer time
Summertime begins throughout Central Europe on the last Sunday in March at 2:00 a.m. Central European Time.
Winter time
The time change to winter time always takes place on the last Sunday in October at 3:00 a.m.
Background of the time change
Since the introduction of summer time in 1980, there has been a dispute about the sense of this measure, since the time change does not actually save any energy. According to Germany’s Federal Environment Agency, electricity is saved in the evening during summer, but at the same time there is more heating in the morning, especially in the cold months (March, April and October). All in all, energy consumption is actually increasing.
Abolishing the time change is currently being discussed in the EU.
