Clocks go back on 25 October 2026: how to work out your new time difference
Published 12 October 2026 · SepoooTools blog
On the night of Saturday 24 to Sunday 25 October 2026, most of Europe leaves summer time. You get one extra hour of sleep, and your phone changes by itself. The tricky part is something else: the time gap to family, friends and clients in other countries changes too. That is how calls get missed.
This guide shows what changes, who does not change, and a simple way to work out any time difference yourself. All examples are calculated step by step, so you can check them.
What exactly happens on 25 October
The change happens on the last Sunday of October. This year that is the 25th, which is the earliest possible date.
- Germany, Austria, France and the rest of the EU: at 3:00 the clock goes back to 2:00. You move from summer time (UTC+2) to standard time, often called winter time (UTC+1).
- United Kingdom: at 2:00 the clock goes back to 1:00. British Summer Time ends and the UK is back on GMT (UTC+0).
Both changes happen at the same moment: 01:00 UTC. So the gap between London and Berlin stays one hour all year.
What about the EU plan to stop changing clocks? The European Parliament voted for it in 2019, but EU governments have still not agreed. The old rules stay in force, so the 2026 change goes ahead as normal.
Who does not change on 25 October
This is where most mistakes happen. Not every country changes on the same day, and many never change at all.
- USA and most of Canada: clocks go back one week later, on Sunday 1 November 2026 at 2:00 local time. Hawaii and most of Arizona stay on standard time all year.
- India: no clock change at all. India Standard Time is UTC+5:30 all year.
- China, Japan, the UAE and Saudi Arabia: no clock change either.
- South-east Australia (for example Sydney and Melbourne): they went the other way. Their summer time started on 4 October 2026, so Sydney is now UTC+11.
The simple way to work out any time difference
You do not need to remember tables. You only need each place's offset from UTC on that date.
- Write down the UTC offset of your city for the date you care about.
- Write down the UTC offset of the other city for the same date.
- Subtract the smaller number from the bigger one. That is the gap.
- Add the gap if the other city is ahead of you. Subtract it if it is behind.
The same 18:00 call in summer was different. Berlin was UTC+2, so the gap was 5:30 − 2 = 3 hours 30 minutes, and 18:00 in Berlin was 21:30 in India. After this weekend the same call lands one hour later for your family. For some people that is suddenly too late in the evening.
Worked examples you can use
All times below are worked out with the four steps above.
| Between | Now (until 24 Oct) | 25 Oct – 31 Oct | From 1 Nov |
|---|---|---|---|
| Berlin ↔ India | 3 h 30 min | 4 h 30 min | 4 h 30 min |
| London ↔ India | 4 h 30 min | 5 h 30 min | 5 h 30 min |
| Berlin ↔ Dubai | 2 h | 3 h | 3 h |
| Berlin ↔ New York | 6 h | 5 h | 6 h |
| London ↔ New York | 5 h | 4 h | 5 h |
| Berlin ↔ Sydney | 9 h | 10 h | 10 h |
Look at the New York rows. For one week the gap is one hour smaller than usual. That is the week that confuses people most.
The odd week: 25 October to 1 November
Europe has already gone back, but the USA has not. New York is still on UTC−4 while Berlin is on UTC+1. So the gap is 5 hours, not 6.
Calendar apps usually handle this well when a meeting was created with a time zone. The risk is a time written in plain text, like "4 pm my time" in an email or chat message. Those times do not move by themselves. Check them again this week.
The hour that happens twice
In Germany the time between 2:00 and 2:59 happens twice on the morning of 25 October. First in summer time, then again in winter time. Most people sleep through it. But it matters if you work a night shift, take medicine at fixed times, or read timestamps from devices. A log entry that says "2:30" could mean two different moments.
A short checklist for this weekend
- Phones and laptops change by themselves. Ovens, car clocks, some watches and older cameras do not.
- If you sort holiday photos by date, set the clock of an older digital camera too. Otherwise its photos land one hour off in your gallery.
- Send family abroad a short message with the new call time.
- Check weekly calls with the USA or Canada for the week of 25 October to 1 November.
- If you write a time for someone in another country, add the city: "18:00 Berlin time".
Useful tools for this week
- Sending documents to family or an office abroad? Merge PDF puts several files into one, and Compress PDF makes it small enough for email.
- Photo too big for a form? Read why a form says your photo is too big.
- See all free tools — they work in your browser, so your files never leave your device.