Time Zone History

Latvia time zone history

On standard time, clocks in Riga run 24 minutes ahead of local mean solar time. Local mean time, UTC+1:36:34, ended in 1880.

UTC+2

Standard time is UTC+2 (EEST/EET); clocks go forward to UTC+3 on the last Sunday in March and back on the last Sunday in October.

tz database name Europe/Riga

Convert a time from Latvia

Summer time in 45 of 57 years since 1970

UTC+1: 1 hour behind today’s standard timeUTC+1:36:34: 23 minutes behind today’s standard timeUTC+2: today’s standard timeUTC+2:36:34: 37 minutes ahead of today’s standard timeUTC+3: 1 hour ahead of today’s standard timeUTC+4: 2 hours ahead of today’s standard timeUTC+1: 1 hour behind today’sstandard timeUTC+1:36:34: 23 minutes behindtoday’s standard timeUTC+2: today’s standard timeUTC+2:36:34: 37 minutes ahead oftoday’s standard timeUTC+3: 1 hour ahead of today’sstandard timeUTC+4: 2 hours ahead of today’sstandard time

How to read this chart

Before 1970

187018901910193019501970187019101950
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec1970198019902000201020202028JFMAMJJASOND1970198019902000201020202028

Standard time changes

DateChangeNew standard timeClock label
Before 1970
January 1, 1880Local mean time (UTC+1:36:34) replacedUTC+1:36:34RMT
May 11, 1926Standard time forward 23 minutesUTC+2EET
August 5, 1940Standard time forward 1 hourUTC+3MSK
July 1, 1941Standard time back 2 hoursUTC+1CET
October 13, 1944Standard time forward 2 hoursUTC+3MSK
Since 1970
March 26, 1989Summer offset kept as standard time; clocks did not moveUTC+2EET

Daylight saving periods

YearsClocks go forwardClocks go backShift and labels
Before 1970
1918April 15September 161 hour, RMT to LST
1919April 1May 221 hour, RMT to LST
1942not that yearNovember 21 hour
1943March 29October 41 hour, CET to CEST
1944April 3October 21 hour, CET to CEST
Since 1970
1981–19831 April, 00:001 October, 00:001 hour, MSK to MSD
1984April 1September 301 hour, MSK to MSD
1985–1988last Sunday in March, 02:00last Sunday in September, 03:001 hour, MSK to MSD
1989not that yearSeptember 241 hour
1990–1996last Sunday in March, 02:00last Sunday in September, 03:001 hour, EET to EEST
1997–1999last Sunday in March, 03:00last Sunday in October, 04:001 hour, EET to EEST
2001–2037last Sunday in March, 03:00last Sunday in October, 04:001 hour, EET to EEST

Clock changes in 2026, 2027 and 2028

The clocks go forward 1 hour (EET to EEST) on March 29, 2026, March 28, 2027 and March 26, 2028 at 03:00 and back 1 hour (EEST to EET) on October 25, 2026, October 31, 2027 and October 29, 2028 at 04:00, local time.

Also on UTC+2

Lithuania, Estonia, Kaliningrad (Russia), Finland, Kyiv (Ukraine), Moldova, Romania, Bulgaria, Greece and Nicosia (Cyprus) (nearest first; 12 more on the list of offsets).

Clocks next door since 1970

  • Lithuania (263 km): same time except 1,036 days in 1996–1999, 2001 and 2002.
  • Estonia (277 km): same time except 245 days in 1996–1998 and 2001.
  • Kaliningrad (Russia) (335 km): same time except 3,263 days in 1996–2026.
  • Finland (361 km): same time except 7,251 days in 1970–1996 and 2000.
  • Belarus (403 km): same time except 3,135 days in 1989–1991 and 1996–2026; 1 hour ahead today.

How it compares

The record holds 6 different UTC offsets, the third-most of the 23 zones on UTC+2 standard time.

Clocks were first moved for daylight saving in 1918, tied second-earliest start among the 22 zones on UTC+2 standard time that ever used daylight saving time.