Europe moves to standard time on 28th October

The long summer days are over in Europe, and it is time to move to standard time. This happens on Sunday 28 October 2012.

The local time of the change depends on the time zone, but in UTC it is at 01:00:^[1]

• British Summer Time (London): at 02:00
• Western European Summer Time (Lisbon): at 02:00
• Central European Summer Time (Milan): at 03:00
• Eastern European Summer Time (Athens): at 04:00

The clocks go back one hour. For example, in the UK the clocks go back from 02:00 to 01:00 on Sunday morning.

Firefighters recommend checking smoke alarms when you change your clocks. When people are asleep, they cannot smell smoke, so a loud, working smoke alarm in several places around the house can wake them when needed.

Update, 26 October 2026: The rule has not changed: in the EU and the UK, clocks go back one hour at 01:00 UTC on the final Sunday of October every year;^[1][2] in 2026 that was 25 October 2026. An EU vote on ending the clock changes is expected in June 2027.^[3] See also: Europe moves to standard time on 27 October 2013.