Clocks are set to change around the world this weekend as we officially enter winter time.
In Spain the time will go back by one hour at 3am on Sunday, October, 27, meaning it will immediately become 2am.
The change, which will mean an hour more in bed, follows the long-standing biannual tradition of moving the clocks forward in spring and back in autumn.
Spain proposes scrapping clock changes altogether
The Spanish government has proposed ending the twice-yearly time shift and put the question to the European Union. As things stand, however, the clock changes remain legally in place until at least 2026.
According to Spain’s Boletín Oficial del Estado (BOE) – the official government bulletin – the next changes are scheduled for March 29, 2026 (to summer time) and October 25, 2026 (back to winter time). What happens after that is still undecided.
A century-old custom
While the modern version of daylight saving time was reinstated in 1974 in response to the oil crisis, the practice dates back even further. The first official time change in Spain was introduced by Royal Decree on April 3, 1918, aimed at saving coal during the First World War.
Between 1950 and 1973, Spain abandoned clock changes completely. But in the wake of the 1970s energy crisis, it reintroduced summer time across Europe. By 1980, the EU began passing directives to coordinate the dates across member states.
Winter time means shorter days, longer nights
From now until December 21, the days will gradually get shorter, culminating in the winter solstice, the darkest day of the year.
The seasonal shift is always met with debate in Spain. Some argue it helps save energy, while others question its impact on sleep, productivity, and health.
