Western Sahara time zone history
Daylight saving time was used in 22 years since 1970, last in 2026; under the current rules the clocks no longer change. The latest change of standard time came on September 20, 2026, from UTC+1 to UTC+0. El Aaiun kept local mean time (UTC−0:52:48) until 1934, the sixth-latest switch of the 298 zones with local mean time in the record.
UTC+0
Standard time is UTC+0 all year under the current rules.
Summer time in 22 of 57 years since 1970
Before 1970
Standard time changes
| Date | Change | New standard time | Clock label |
|---|---|---|---|
| Before 1970 | |||
| January 1, 1934 | Local mean time (UTC−0:52:48) replaced | UTC−1 | numeric only |
| Since 1970 | |||
| April 14, 1976 | Standard time forward 1 hour | UTC+0 | numeric only |
| October 28, 2018 | Summer offset kept as standard time; clocks did not move | UTC+1 | numeric only |
| September 20, 2026 | Standard time back 1 hour | UTC+0 | numeric only |
Daylight saving periods
| Years | Clocks go forward | Clocks go back | Shift and labels |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1976 | May 1 | August 1 | 1 hour |
| 1977 | May 1 | September 28 | 1 hour |
| 1978 | June 1 | August 4 | 1 hour |
| 2008 | June 1 | September 1 | 1 hour |
| 2009 | June 1 | August 21 | 1 hour |
| 2010 | May 2 | August 8 | 1 hour |
| 2011 | April 3 | July 31 | 1 hour |
| 2012–2018 | dates set year by year (listed below) | 1 hour | |
| 2019 | June 9 | May 5 | 1 hour |
| 2020 | May 31 | April 19 | 1 hour |
| 2021 | May 16 | April 11 | 1 hour |
| 2022 | May 8 | March 27 | 1 hour |
| 2023 | April 23 | March 19 | 1 hour |
| 2024 | April 14 | March 10 | 1 hour |
| 2025 | April 6 | February 23 | 1 hour |
| 2026 | March 22 | February 15 | 1 hour |
2012–2018, year by year
- 2012 forward April 29, August 20; back July 20, September 30
- 2013 forward April 28, August 10; back July 7, October 27
- 2014 forward March 30, August 2; back June 28, October 26
- 2015 forward March 29, July 19; back June 14, October 25
- 2016 forward March 27, July 10; back June 5, October 30
- 2017 forward March 26, July 2; back May 21, October 29
- 2018 forward March 25, June 17; back May 13
Clock changes in 2026, 2027 and 2028
- February 15, 2026, 03:00 back 1 hour to UTC+0
- March 22, 2026, 02:00 forward 1 hour to UTC+1
- September 20, 2026, 02:00 back 1 hour to UTC+0
Also on UTC+0
Canary Islands (Spain), Madeira (Portugal), Morocco, Lisbon (Portugal), Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Côte d’Ivoire, United Kingdom, São Tomé and Príncipe and Faroe Islands (nearest first; 2 more on the list of offsets).
Clocks next door since 1970
- Canary Islands (Spain) (241 km): same time except 10,250 days in 1970–1978 and 1980–2026.
- Madeira (Portugal) (706 km): same time except 9,886 days in 1970–1978 and 1982–2026.
- Morocco (901 km): same time except 2,951 days in 1970–1976, 1984 and 1985.
- Ceuta (Spain) (1,224 km): usually 1 hour ahead; different on 9,519 days in 1974, 1976–1984 and 1986–2026.
- Gibraltar (1,244 km): usually 1 hour ahead; different on 9,893 days in 1970–1978 and 1982–2026.
How it compares
Western Sahara has changed its standard time 3 times since 1970, tied second-most among the 13 zones on UTC+0 standard time.
In 2012 the clocks were changed 4 times.
On standard time, clocks in El Aaiun run 53 minutes ahead of local mean solar time.