Daylight saving time
All dates 2024–2030, the rules and the permanent-time debate.
DST 2026 · the record
Daylight saving time 2026
In 2026 Eastern Time sprang forward on Sunday, March 8 at 2:00 AM EST and fell back on Sunday, November 1 at 2:00 AM EDT. Both changes are now history; this page keeps the exact record.
- Spring forward
- Mar 8 · 07:00 UTC
- Fall back
- Nov 1 · 06:00 UTC
- Days on EDT in 2026
- 238
- Next change (Mar 14, 2027) in
- Sun, Mar 14, 2027
When did daylight saving time start in 2026?
At 2:00 AM EST on Sunday, March 8, 2026, clocks from Toronto to Miami jumped to 3:00 AM EDT, and the zone moved from UTC−5 to UTC−4. The instant was 07:00 UTC – in your own time zone, Sun, Mar 8, 7:00 AM UTC. The night had 23 hours. The rest of the continent followed hour by hour: Central Time at 08:00 UTC, Mountain at 09:00 and Pacific at 10:00.
For western Canada it was the last spring-forward. British Columbia announced on March 2 that the jump would be its final change, and during the year Alberta, the Northwest Territories and Manitoba made the same choice, so all four simply stayed where March 8 left them.
When did daylight saving time end in 2026?
At 2:00 AM EDT on Sunday, November 1, 2026, clocks fell back to 1:00 AM EST. The instant was 06:00 UTC – Sun, Nov 1, 6:00 AM UTC for you. The hour from 1:00 to 1:59 AM ran twice and the day lasted 25 hours, closing 238 days of Eastern Daylight Time. From then until March 14, 2027 the zone is on Eastern Standard Time, UTC−5.
Unlike in March, not everyone moved. Most of British Columbia stayed at UTC−7, Alberta and the Northwest Territories at UTC−6, and Manitoba – with the northwestern Ontario communities that keep its time – at UTC−5, so since that morning Winnipeg and Toronto show the same time. Within the Eastern zone, Ontario, Quebec and all the US states fell back as usual, although Quebec had announced four days earlier that it wants November 1 to be its last change.
| Place | First change | UTC | Second change | UTC |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eastern Time (New York, Toronto) | Sun Mar 8, 2:00 → 3:00 AM | Mar 8 07:00 | Sun Nov 1, 2:00 → 1:00 AM | Nov 1 06:00 |
| Central Time (Chicago) | Sun Mar 8, 2:00 → 3:00 AM | Mar 8 08:00 | Sun Nov 1, 2:00 → 1:00 AM | Nov 1 07:00 |
| Pacific Time (Los Angeles) | Sun Mar 8, 2:00 → 3:00 AM | Mar 8 10:00 | Sun Nov 1, 2:00 → 1:00 AM | Nov 1 09:00 |
| UK (London) | Sun Mar 29, 1:00 → 2:00 AM | Mar 29 01:00 | Sun Oct 25, 2:00 → 1:00 AM | Oct 25 01:00 |
| Central Europe (Paris, Berlin) | Sun Mar 29, 2:00 → 3:00 AM | Mar 29 01:00 | Sun Oct 25, 3:00 → 2:00 AM | Oct 25 01:00 |
| Sydney, Melbourne | Sun Apr 5, 3:00 → 2:00 AM | Apr 4 16:00 | Sun Oct 4, 2:00 → 3:00 AM | Oct 3 16:00 |
| New Zealand (Auckland) | Sun Apr 5, 3:00 → 2:00 AM | Apr 4 14:00 | Sun Sep 27, 2:00 → 3:00 AM | Sep 26 14:00 |
| Cuba (Havana) | Sun Mar 8, 0:00 → 1:00 AM | Mar 8 05:00 | No change – stays UTC−4 | — |
Which weeks of 2026 were out of step with Europe?
North America sprang forward three weeks before the EU and the UK, which changed on March 29, and fell back one week after them, since Europe returned to winter time on October 25. In both gaps New York was 4 hours behind London and 5 behind Paris instead of 5 and 6.
That meant three working weeks in March – the 9th to the 27th – and one in autumn, October 26–30. During them the 9:30 AM New York opening bell rang at 1:30 PM in London rather than 2:30 PM, and standing transatlantic calls set in ET arrived an hour early in Europe. The EST to GMT and EST to CET converters show the normal and mismatch tables side by side.
| Period (2026) | New York | London | Paris · Berlin | London ahead by | Paris ahead by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 1 – Mar 7 | EST | GMT | CET | 5 h | 6 h |
| Mar 8 – Mar 28 | EDT | GMT | CET | 4 h | 5 h |
| Mar 29 – Oct 24 | EDT | BST | CEST | 5 h | 6 h |
| Oct 25 – Oct 31 | EDT | GMT | CET | 4 h | 5 h |
| Nov 1 – Dec 31 | EST | GMT | CET | 5 h | 6 h |
What changed in Australia and New Zealand in 2026?
The Southern Hemisphere began 2026 on summer time. Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra and Hobart left AEDT on Sunday, April 5 and returned on Sunday, October 4; both instants were 16:00 UTC on the Saturday, which was noon EDT in New York. New Zealand fell back the same April morning and sprang forward a week earlier than Australia, on September 27. Brisbane and the rest of Queensland stayed on AEST all year.
Because the hemispheres move in opposite directions, the gap from New York to Sydney changed four times in 2026. A 9:00 AM ET call reached Sydney at 1:00 AM the next day in January, midnight in late March, 11:00 PM the same day through the southern winter, midnight again in October and 1:00 AM after November 1.
| Period (2026) | Sydney | Auckland |
|---|---|---|
| Jan 1 – Mar 7 | 16 h (AEDT) | 18 h (NZDT) |
| Mar 8 – Apr 4 | 15 h (AEDT) | 17 h (NZDT) |
| Apr 5 – Sep 26 | 14 h (AEST) | 16 h (NZST) |
| Sep 27 – Oct 3 | 14 h (AEST) | 17 h (NZDT) |
| Oct 4 – Oct 31 | 15 h (AEDT) | 17 h (NZDT) |
| Nov 1 – Dec 31 | 16 h (AEDT) | 18 h (NZDT) |
What did Cuba do with its clocks in 2026?
Cuba shares Eastern Time's dates but not its hour: it changes at midnight. On March 8, 2026 Havana went from 0:00 CST to 1:00 AM CDT – 05:00 UTC, two hours before New York. Then, on October 24, the government announced that it would keep daylight time until November 7, 2027 and skip the November 1 fall-back, delaying school and work start times by 30 minutes during the months that would normally be on standard time.
Since November 1, Havana has therefore been one hour ahead of Miami and New York, UTC−4 against UTC−5. Devices whose time zone data predates the late-October 2026 update may still display Havana time an hour behind.
What comes after the 2026 changes?
The next change in Eastern Time is Sunday, March 14, 2027 at 2:00 AM EST (07:00 UTC), followed by the fall-back on Sunday, November 7, 2027 (06:00 UTC). The DST 2027 planning guide has countdowns to both, the mismatch calendar and a checklist for the skipped and repeated hours.
2026 was also the year the US came closest to ending the switch: the House passed the Sunshine Protection Act (H.R. 139) on July 14 by 308 votes to 117. It now sits with the Senate Commerce Committee without a vote, so the clock changes remain law and standard time returns each November – the daylight saving time guide explains where the federal and state proposals stand, and the live Eastern Time clock shows which offset is in force today.
Frequently asked questions
Were March 8 and November 1 unusually early dates?
Yes. The second Sunday in March always falls between March 8 and 14, and the first Sunday in November between November 1 and 7, so 2026 had the earliest possible date for both changes. 2027 has the latest possible dates, March 14 and November 7.
What time was it in New York when Europe changed its clocks?
Europe changes at 01:00 UTC on Sunday, which was 9:00 PM EDT on Saturday in New York: on March 28, 2026 for the spring change and October 24, 2026 for the autumn change.
Did any US state stop changing clocks in 2026?
No. Every state that observed DST in 2025 changed again on March 8 and November 1, 2026. The 19 state laws for permanent daylight time cannot take effect without Congress, and none of the IANA time zone database's six 2026 updates touched a US state.
How did DST 2026 change the gap to Tokyo, India and China?
Japan, India and China do not use daylight saving time, so only New York's side moved: Tokyo was 14 hours ahead until March 8, 13 hours ahead during EDT and 14 again from November 1. India went from 10.5 to 9.5 hours and back, China from 13 to 12 and back.
Why did Phoenix not change its clocks in 2026?
Arizona outside the Navajo Nation uses the opt-out that the Uniform Time Act allows and stays on Mountain Standard Time all year. From March 8 to November 1, 2026 Phoenix therefore had the same time as Los Angeles, and since then it matches Denver again.
Explore
DST 2027
Countdowns to March 14 and November 7, 2027, with a planning checklist.
EDT explained
Eastern Daylight Time, UTC−4, from March to November.
EST explained
Eastern Standard Time, UTC−5, the zone's winter clock.
EST to GMT
New York to London, hour by hour, in every season.
EST to CET
New York to Paris, Berlin and Rome, including the mismatch weeks.