canary islands clock change october 2026

Canary Islands clocks go back on 25 October

Compiled with the help of artificial intelligence, based on Spanish-language information. Source below the article.

Canary Islands clocks go back on 25 October

With thermometers across the Canary Islands hitting 32°C today, it is hard not to dream of autumn and its mild temperatures, which are already almost a distant memory across the archipelago. Along with the change of season comes the clock change, which, as every year, takes place at the end of October. Despite opposition to the time change from the Spanish Government, the European Parliament and the European Commission, no definitive decision has yet been taken on the matter. As things stand, 2026 will keep its usual twice-yearly shifting of the hands, with the next switch falling on 25 October at 2.00am.

An extra hour of sleep as winter time returns

Afternoons are already growing shorter and night is falling earlier, which can only mean one thing: winter time is on its way. In the Canary Islands, clocks will need to be put back one hour at 2.00am, so they will return to 1.00am. Saturday night into Sunday will therefore last an extra hour. With this adjustment, daylight will arrive earlier in the morning but there will be less light in the afternoon. The change will be especially noticeable at dusk, when the sun will set an hour earlier by the clock, making afternoons feel shorter. Winter time will remain in place over the following months, until the next switch to summer time, scheduled for March 2027.

Why 25 October?

Royal Decree 236/2002 establishes that summer time begins on the last Sunday in March and ends on the last Sunday in October. The European Commission has also already set the dates for the clock changes up to 2031, meaning the system will remain in force well beyond 2026. In 2027, the switch to winter time will take place on 31 October, when clocks will need to be put back one hour.

Does the time change still save energy?

For decades, one of the main arguments for moving the clocks forwards and backwards was energy saving. The idea was to make better use of natural daylight in order to reduce electricity consumption and, with it, polluting emissions. However, the energy savings associated with the time change are now very small, and its impact on climate change is, to say the least, debatable. The widespread use of LED lighting and changes in consumption habits have stripped much of the sense from that original justification. Some European studies put the savings derived from a reduced need for lighting at very small percentages. What is more, any such saving may be at least partly offset by greater energy consumption for heating or air conditioning.

The problem is that changing the clocks does not alter the hours of sunlight available; it simply changes the moment of the day at which we make use of that light. In winter, for example, putting the clocks back an hour can delay sunrise even further. The early hours of the morning become darker and colder, which can increase the need for lighting and heating in homes, schools and workplaces. In summer, the opposite happens. By keeping more hours of daylight in the afternoon, temperatures can remain high for longer inside buildings, increasing the need for air conditioning. So although the time change may have certain effects on energy consumption, it can no longer be considered a relevant tool in the fight against climate change.

Standard time or permanent summer time?

If countries decided to scrap the time change for good, they would have to choose between keeping winter time, also known as standard time, or adopting summer time all year round. The choice depends on what is to be prioritised: health and synchronisation with sunlight, or economic activity, leisure and social habits. From the point of view of chronobiology and sleep, standard time offers significant advantages. Natural morning light plays a fundamental role in regulating our biological clock and helps synchronise circadian rhythms with the natural cycle of day and night. Keeping winter time means sunrise comes earlier, especially during the darkest months of the year. This encourages greater exposure to natural light during the early hours of the day and prevents dusk from being delayed even further. For this reason, many sleep and chronobiology specialists favour keeping standard time over permanent summer time. A closer match between the social clock and the solar clock can help improve sleep patterns and reduce disruption to circadian rhythms.

The alternative is to keep summer time all year round. This option tends to appeal from a social and economic point of view. Having more hours of daylight after the working day makes it easier to take part in outdoor activities, sport, tourism, dining out and leisure. It can also boost spending in shops and hospitality venues. For many people, longer afternoons are also associated with a greater sense of making the most of the day and a better quality of life. On the other hand, when that schedule is carried over into the winter months, we gain an hour of light in the afternoon and lose it in the morning.

Spain’s time zone, a legacy of the Franco era

Spain’s particular problem is especially complicated because, geographically, it sits in the wrong time zone. Given its position on the map, the mainland should be on the same time as the Canary Islands, Portugal and the United Kingdom (GMT), but it has been on Berlin time (CET) since the 1940s, a decision taken by an order published in the Official State Gazette (BOE) and signed by the dictator Francisco Franco with the sole aim of aligning Spanish time with that of Adolf Hitler’s Nazi Germany and Benito Mussolini’s fascist Italy. The change was initially presented as a temporary measure. In fact, the official provision itself stated that a date would later be set for returning to what it called ‘normal time’. However, the Second World War ended in 1945 and, unlike the United Kingdom (which had also altered its clocks during the war and later restored them to their original state), Spain and France, which is also in the GMT zone, never put their clocks back again.

The Canary Islands also find themselves in a time zone that does not correspond exactly to their geographical position. Located around the 15th meridian west, the islands would geographically belong to the UTC-1 zone, the same one used by Cape Verde and the Azores. However, the Canary Islands currently operate on UTC, an hour ahead of what their position relative to the sun would dictate.

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