Which Countries Still Change Their Clocks, and When in 2026

Paraguay stopped changing its clocks in 2024. The country now stays on UTC-3 all year, joining the large swath of the world that no longer shifts an hour between seasons. Yet twice in 2026, hundreds of millions of people will still move their clocks forward in spring and back in autumn. The practice remains anchored in law across much of Europe and North America, and a handful of nations in the southern hemisphere and the Middle East follow their own rhythm. The exact dates depend on where you are.

Europe and the United Kingdom

European Union member states and the United Kingdom move their clocks on the same two dates in 2026. Clocks go forward one hour on 29 March and back one hour on 25 October. The change happens at 01:00 UTC.

The schedule is fixed by EU law under Directive 2000/84/EC. It mandates the last Sunday of March for the spring switch and the last Sunday of October for the autumn return. The UK continues to follow the same dates after its departure from the EU. A world clock will reflect the shift automatically for cities in the Central European Time zone and the UK at those moments.

United States and Canada

Most of the United States and Canada change clocks on 8 March and 1 November in 2026. The spring forward happens on the second Sunday of March and the fall back on the first Sunday of November, at 02:00 local time. This pattern has been in place since 2007.

Not every state and province participates. Arizona stays on Mountain Standard Time all year. The exception is the Navajo Nation, which does observe daylight saving time. Hawaii never changes its clocks. In Canada, Saskatchewan keeps its clocks fixed. A time zone map shows the dividing lines clearly. In the Eastern Time zone, the switch means an abrupt shift in daylight hours for cities from New York to Toronto.

Mexico ended daylight saving time for most of the country in 2022. A few municipalities along the US border still follow the American schedule to stay aligned with neighbouring communities.

Australia

Australia splits in two over daylight saving time. In 2026 the states and territories that observe it move clocks back on 5 April and forward on 4 October. New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia and the Australian Capital Territory make the change. Queensland, Western Australia and the Northern Territory do not. They remain on standard time all year.

The April date marks the end of the southern summer, pulling the clock back as the season cools. The October date pushes it forward again for the longer days.

New Zealand

New Zealand moves its clocks back on 5 April 2026 and forward on 27 September 2026. The country follows a similar seasonal logic to Australia but sets its own dates. The September start lines up with the beginning of spring in the southern hemisphere.

Egypt

Egypt brought daylight saving time back in 2023 after a break. In 2026 the clock change runs from 24 April to 29 October. The move adds an hour of evening light through the hottest months. The dates are set by government decree and can shift from year to year.

Places that do not change

Iran stopped observing daylight saving time in 2022. Paraguay ended the practice in 2024. Most of Asia and Africa and many countries near the equator do not change their clocks at all. The closer a country sits to the equator, the less the length of daylight varies across the year, so there is little to gain from shifting an hour.

The case for scrapping the change

The list of countries that still change their clocks shrinks with each decade. The arguments for keeping the switch have worn thin. The original case rested on energy savings and making better use of daylight. Those gains were always small and in modern economies they are negligible. The disruption to sleep, to health and to schedules is real and measurable. The European Union itself has debated ending the practice for years, but member states cannot agree on which time to lock in. The result is a permanent holding pattern. The United States has seen similar legislative paralysis. The clock change persists not because it makes sense but because undoing it requires a political decision that nobody wants to own. The simplest fix is to pick a time and stick with it. Paraguay did it. Most of the world did it. The remaining holdouts should follow.