2025 time change dates for Spain
At 2:00 AM the clocks jump straight to 3:00 AM in Spain. That hour never happens, and everyone loses an hour of sleep.
At 3:00 AM the clocks return to 2:00 AM, so that hour is lived through twice and the night is an hour longer.
Spain keeps CET in winter and shifts one hour forward for the summer.
Countdown to the next change
Health Considerations for Spain Residents
The spring transition is the one that hurts. A study in Open Heart found the risk of heart attack rose by about 24% on the Monday after clocks went forward, before falling back to normal within the week. Research published in Current Biology found a 6% rise in fatal traffic accidents in the week following the spring change, with the effect strongest in the morning and in the western parts of time zones.
The autumn change, when most people gain an hour, shows no comparable spike. Researchers attribute the difference to sleep loss rather than to the clock change itself.
Agricultural Considerations
The story that DST was introduced for farmers has it exactly backwards. Farmers in Spain and elsewhere were among its most persistent opponents, and the American farm lobby successfully campaigned to have national DST repealed after the First World War.
The reason is straightforward: farm work follows the sun, not the clock. Moving the clock forward just means doing the same work an hour earlier by the clock, while deliveries, markets and hired labour all shift with it. Dairy farmers make the point most often, since cows keep to their own schedule and take several days to adjust to a changed milking time.
Background
- Germany and Austria-Hungary were the first countries to adopt DST nationally, in April 1916, as a wartime fuel-saving measure.
- Roughly 70 countries use some form of DST, but they are concentrated in Europe and North America. Most of Africa and Asia do not.
- The Uniform Time Act of 1966 ended a chaotic period in which US cities set their own clock-change dates, and established a uniform national schedule.
Tips for Spain
Update your car clock, microwave, and other manual clocks that don't auto-update.
Consider the time change when scheduling meetings with people in other time zones.
Remember that not all countries change on the same date - check international meeting times carefully.
Use the extra evening daylight in summer for outdoor activities and vitamin D.
Frequently asked questions
When do the clocks change in Spain in 2025?
Clocks go forward on Sunday, March 30, 2025 and back on Sunday, October 26, 2025.
Which way do the clocks go?
"Spring forward, fall back" is the usual mnemonic: forward one hour in spring, back one hour in autumn.
Do I have to change anything myself?
Phones, computers and anything that syncs over the internet update on their own. Car clocks, ovens, microwaves and older wall clocks generally do not.
Is Daylight Saving Time being scrapped?
It has been proposed in many places and adopted in few. The European Parliament voted in 2019 to end mandatory clock changes and the change has stalled; in the United States the Sunshine Protection Act has repeatedly passed the Senate without becoming law. Most of the world that changes its clocks is still changing them.