In 2026, the time change will occur in the early morning of Saturday, March 28 to Sunday, March 29. At 2:00 AM, it will become 3:00 AM in the peninsula and the Balearic Islands, while in the Canary Islands the clock will go from 1:00 AM to 2:00 AM.
A day with an hour less
The advancement of the clock implies that that Sunday will have only 23 hours, since the official time is advanced 60 minutes. This adjustment is part of the daylight saving time system that is applied in most European countries to better utilize daylight hours during the longest months of the year.
As a consequence, it will dawn an hour later, but dusk will also be delayed, which will allow enjoying more light in the afternoon.
Most devices will adjust automatically
In practice, the time change usually goes unnoticed on many devices. Smartphones, computers, smart televisions or connected watches update automatically thanks to internet time synchronization systems.
However, some devices still require a manual adjustment. This is the case for analog clocks, home appliances, wall clocks or some vehicles, that are not connected to the network.
The first step towards the longest days of the year
The change in March marks the beginning of daylight saving time, which will be maintained until the last weekend of October, when clocks will go back an hour again to recover winter time.
This system remains in force in Spain despite the fact that in recent years the possibility of eliminating seasonal time changes has been debated in the European Union. For now, however, the March and October adjustment continues to be applied throughout the country.