Daylight saving time affects anyone who schedules across time zones. If your team in New York has a standing 9am call with colleagues in London, that meeting shifts by one hour twice a year. In March 2026, when US clocks spring forward on March 8 but EU clocks do not change until March 29, there is a three-week window where New York is on EDT (UTC-4) while London is still on GMT (UTC+0). The time difference is 4 hours instead of the usual 5.
Travelers hit DST transitions when crossing borders. A flight from Los Angeles to London on March 8, 2026 departs on PDT (UTC-7) but lands in a city that is still on GMT (UTC+0) until March 29. The effective jet lag calculation changes depending on whether DST has started at the origin, the destination, or both.
Server administrators and developers deal with DST when configuring cron jobs and scheduled tasks. A job set to run at 2am every day will either skip or repeat that hour on DST transition days. On March 8, 2026 in the US, 2am does not exist because clocks jump from 1:59am to 3am. On November 1, 2026, the hour between 1am and 2am repeats, so a cron job firing at 1:30am runs twice.
Logistics companies plan around DST for delivery windows. A truck driving from Phoenix (which does not observe DST) to Denver (which does) will see the time difference change from 0 hours in winter to 1 hour in summer, affecting estimated arrival times and driver hours-of-service calculations.
Daylight saving time is the practice of advancing clocks by one hour during summer months to extend evening daylight. Regions that observe DST set clocks forward by one hour in spring ("spring forward") and back by one hour in autumn ("fall back"). The exact dates vary by country and region.
This tool uses the IANA Time Zone Database (tzdata), which is the same database used by operating systems and programming languages worldwide. When you select a region, the tool checks the current UTC offset for that timezone and compares it against the January and July offsets to determine whether DST is currently active.
The DST start and end dates for each region are calculated from the region's transition rules. For example, the US rule is "second Sunday in March" and "first Sunday in November." The tool computes the exact date for any year you select, so you can check DST dates for past or future years.
Regions in the Northern Hemisphere (US, Canada, Europe) start DST in March and end in October or November. Regions in the Southern Hemisphere (Australia, New Zealand, Paraguay) start DST in September or October and end in March or April, because their seasons are reversed.
Input
United States, 2026
Output
DST starts March 8, 2026 (2am local) | DST ends November 1, 2026 (2am local)
New York shifts from EST (UTC-5) to EDT (UTC-4). Arizona and Hawaii do not observe DST.
Input
Europe (EU and UK), 2026
Output
DST starts March 29, 2026 (1am UTC) | DST ends October 25, 2026 (1am UTC)
London shifts from GMT (UTC+0) to BST (UTC+1). Paris shifts from CET (UTC+1) to CEST (UTC+2).
Input
Australia (NSW, VIC, TAS), 2026
Output
DST starts October 4, 2026 (2am local) | DST ends April 5, 2026 (3am local)
Sydney shifts from AEST (UTC+10) to AEDT (UTC+11). Queensland, Western Australia, and Northern Territory do not observe DST.
Input
New Zealand, 2026
Output
DST starts September 27, 2026 (2am local) | DST ends April 5, 2026 (3am local)
Auckland shifts from NZST (UTC+12) to NZDT (UTC+13).
Input
Japan, 2026
Output
No DST observed. JST (UTC+9) year-round.
Japan abolished DST in 1952 and has not reintroduced it. China, India, South Korea, and Singapore also do not observe DST.
Things to watch out for
What is daylight saving time (DST)?
Daylight saving time is the practice of setting clocks forward by one hour during summer months to make better use of evening daylight. Clocks are advanced by one hour in spring (spring forward) and set back by one hour in autumn (fall back). Not all countries observe DST, and the start and end dates vary by region.
When does DST start in the United States in 2026?
In the United States, DST starts on the second Sunday in March. For 2026, that is March 8, 2026. Clocks spring forward from 1:59am to 3am local time. DST ends on the first Sunday in November, which is November 1, 2026. Arizona (except the Navajo Nation) and Hawaii do not observe DST.
When does DST start in Europe in 2026?
In the EU and UK, DST starts on the last Sunday in March. For 2026, that is March 29, 2026. Clocks change simultaneously at 1am UTC across all EU member states. DST ends on the last Sunday in October, which is October 25, 2026. Iceland does not observe DST.
Why do the US and Europe switch on different dates?
The US uses the second Sunday in March and first Sunday in November, while the EU uses the last Sunday in March and last Sunday in October. This creates periods where the time difference between US and European cities is one hour different from the usual offset. In March 2026, there is a three-week gap (March 8 to March 29) where New York is 4 hours behind London instead of the usual 5 hours.
Which countries do not observe daylight saving time?
Many countries do not observe DST, including Japan, China, India, South Korea, Singapore, Russia, Iceland, and most of Africa and South America. Mexico abolished DST in October 2022 except for border municipalities. Brazil abolished it in 2019. The number of countries observing DST has been declining in recent years.
How does DST work in the Southern Hemisphere?
Countries in the Southern Hemisphere have reversed seasons, so their DST period is inverted. Australia (New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania, and ACT) starts DST on the first Sunday in October and ends on the first Sunday in April. New Zealand starts on the last Sunday in September and ends on the first Sunday in April. This means in January, these countries are in DST while Northern Hemisphere countries are not.
What happens to the clock during DST transitions?
When DST starts (spring forward), clocks jump from 1:59am to 3am, so the hour between 2am and 3am does not exist. When DST ends (fall back), clocks go from 1:59am back to 1am, so the hour between 1am and 2am repeats. This can cause issues with scheduling, logging, and time-based calculations in software.
Is the US going to stop changing clocks for DST?
The US Senate passed the Sunshine Protection Act in March 2022, which would make DST permanent. However, the bill did not pass the House of Representatives and was not enacted into law. As of 2026, the US continues to observe seasonal DST with clock changes in March and November. Some states have considered permanent DST, but federal law currently requires congressional approval for states to remain on DST year-round.
How accurate are the DST dates shown on this page?
The DST dates are calculated from the transition rules defined in the IANA Time Zone Database (tzdata), which is maintained by IANA and used by most operating systems. The rules can change if a government modifies its DST policy. The tool checks the current UTC offset in real time using the browser's Intl API, so the DST status reflects the latest timezone data available on your device.
What is the difference between standard time and daylight saving time?
Standard time is the base UTC offset for a timezone during winter months. Daylight saving time is the offset used during summer months, which is typically one hour ahead of standard time. For example, New York uses Eastern Standard Time (EST, UTC-5) in winter and Eastern Daylight Time (EDT, UTC-4) in summer.
DST rules are set by national governments and can change with little notice. The dates shown here are based on the IANA Time Zone Database rules currently in effect. If a government changes its DST policy, the dates may not reflect the new rules until the tzdata database is updated on your device. Always verify critical scheduling decisions against official sources.