This guide covers Countries That Observe Daylight Saving Time | TimeFlow — what it means, how it works, and how to use it. The explanations below are followed by worked examples with real dates and real times, a set of frequently asked questions, and links to the tools that do the calculation for you: the time zone converter, the world clock, and the UTC converter. Where a number is given — an offset, a date, a count — it is computed from the IANA Time Zone Database for the date stated, not copied from a table that may be out of date.

Try the tool: Time Zone Converter — convert any time between any two cities, with the daylight saving rules for the date you choose.

About 70 countries observe daylight saving time, concentrated in Europe, North America and parts of Oceania. The pattern is not random: daylight saving only makes sense where the difference between summer and winter day length is large, which means temperate latitudes — roughly between 30 and 60 degrees north or south of the equator.

In Europe, almost every country observes it, from Ireland to Ukraine, changing on the last Sunday of March and the last Sunday of October. The exceptions are Iceland, Russia, Belarus and Türkiye, which have all abolished it or never adopted it. In North America, the United States, Canada and Mexico's border regions observe it; most of Mexico, and the US states of Hawaii and Arizona, do not.

In the Southern Hemisphere the pattern is reversed. Australia's south-eastern states (New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania) and New Zealand observe it, with clocks going forward in October and back in April. Queensland, Western Australia and the Northern Territory do not. In South America, only Chile and Paraguay still observe it; Brazil abolished it in 2019.

The list shrinks every few years. Since 2010, Russia, Türkiye, Brazil, Mexico, Jordan, Morocco's neighbours and several others have dropped the change. The remaining countries are mostly those where the summer–winter daylight difference is largest and where the political cost of changing is lowest.

In practice

The geography of daylight saving is the geography of temperate latitudes. It only makes sense where the difference between summer and winter day length is large — roughly between 30 and 60 degrees north or south of the equator. That is why it is concentrated in Europe, North America and parts of Oceania, and why most of Africa and Asia do not use it: near the equator, day length barely changes, so there is nothing to save.

The two biggest systems are North America and Europe, and they do not agree on dates. North America changes on the second Sunday of March and the first Sunday of November; Europe changes on the last Sunday of March and the last Sunday of October. The mismatch creates a few weeks each year when the usual time gaps are wrong by an hour — a trap for anyone scheduling across the Atlantic in March or October.

The southern hemisphere is the mirror image. Australia and New Zealand move their clocks forward in October and back in April, because their summer is the northern winter. The same rule applies in reverse: Chile and Paraguay, which also observe it, change in September and April. If you schedule across hemispheres, the offset between two cities can change four times a year — twice for each hemisphere.

The numbers: daylight saving in 2026

The table below shows when daylight saving starts and ends in 2026 in eight major zones. The northern hemisphere moves its clocks forward in March and back in October or November; the southern hemisphere does the opposite, moving forward in October and back in April.

Time zone Daylight saving starts 2026 Daylight saving ends 2026
New York Sunday, 8 March 2026 Sunday, 1 November 2026
London Sunday, 29 March 2026 Sunday, 25 October 2026
Paris Sunday, 29 March 2026 Sunday, 25 October 2026
Berlin Sunday, 29 March 2026 Sunday, 25 October 2026
Sydney Sunday, 4 October 2026 Sunday, 5 April 2026
Auckland Sunday, 27 September 2026 Sunday, 5 April 2026
Toronto Sunday, 8 March 2026 Sunday, 1 November 2026
Chicago Sunday, 8 March 2026 Sunday, 1 November 2026

The mismatch between North America and Europe is the detail that catches people out: the United States changes on the second Sunday of March, three weeks before Europe changes on the last Sunday of March, so for three weeks each spring — and one week each autumn — the gap between New York and London is four hours instead of five. The daylight saving dates page lists every zone that changes in 2026, and the time zone converter applies the rules for the date you choose.

The same eight zones in 2027:

Time zone Daylight saving starts 2027 Daylight saving ends 2027
New York Sunday, 14 March 2027 Sunday, 7 November 2027
London Sunday, 28 March 2027 Sunday, 31 October 2027
Paris Sunday, 28 March 2027 Sunday, 31 October 2027
Berlin Sunday, 28 March 2027 Sunday, 31 October 2027
Sydney Sunday, 3 October 2027 Sunday, 4 April 2027
Auckland Sunday, 26 September 2027 Sunday, 4 April 2027
Toronto Sunday, 14 March 2027 Sunday, 7 November 2027
Chicago Sunday, 14 March 2027 Sunday, 7 November 2027

The pattern is the same every year, but the dates move: in 2027 the US springs forward on 14 March and falls back on 7 November, while Europe springs forward on 28 March and falls back on 31 October. The day of the week is fixed — the second Sunday of March, the last Sunday of March — but the date shifts, which is why you should check the dates for the year you care about rather than remembering last year's.

Key facts

  • About 70 countries observe daylight saving, concentrated in Europe, North America and parts of Oceania.
  • The United States changes on the second Sunday of March; Europe changes on the last Sunday of March.
  • Australia and New Zealand change in the opposite direction, because their summer is the northern winter.
  • Russia, Türkiye, Brazil, Mexico, Jordan and Morocco have all abolished daylight saving in the last twelve years.
  • The spring change costs an hour of sleep, and studies find a spike in accidents in the days after it.

Frequently asked questions

How many countries observe daylight saving?

About 70, concentrated in Europe, North America and parts of Oceania.

Why do tropical countries not observe it?

Near the equator, day length is close to 12 hours all year, so moving the clocks would move daylight around without adding any. Daylight saving only makes sense at temperate latitudes.

When does Europe change its clocks?

On the last Sunday of March and the last Sunday of October. North America changes on the second Sunday of March and the first Sunday of November.

Does Australia observe daylight saving?

Partly. New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania and the ACT do; Queensland, Western Australia and the Northern Territory do not.

Do southern hemisphere countries change in the opposite direction?

Yes. Australia and New Zealand move their clocks forward in October and back in April, because their summer is the northern winter.

When does daylight saving start in 2027?

In the United States on 14 March 2027, in Europe on 28 March 2027, and in Australia and New Zealand on 3 October 2027. The daylight saving dates page lists every zone that changes.

What is the time difference between London and Tokyo?

Nine hours in January 2026: London is UTC+00:00 and Tokyo is UTC+09:00. In July it is eight hours, because London moves to UTC+01:00 while Tokyo stays on UTC+09:00. The time zone converter gives the difference for any two cities and any date.

Related pages

Sources

  • IANA Time Zone Database, via Node.js Intl (Intl.DateTimeFormat with timeZone) — offsets, daylight saving dates and local times in this article were worked out from the IANA database, not typed from memory.
  • TimeFlow's own time-zone data (data/cities.ts, data/dst.ts), computed from the IANA database.
  • Time zone rules and offsets: the IANA Time Zone Database, as applied by this site's tools. Offsets and daylight saving dates on this page are computed from the database for the dates stated.
  • TimeFlow's time zone converter, world clock and UTC converter — the live tools behind the numbers on this page.
  • Time-zone and daylight saving rules are set by governments and can change. For flights, deadlines and meetings that cannot move, confirm the time with an official source.