Azores time zone history
The record holds 6 different UTC offsets, the most of the 8 zones on Atlantic islands. The Azores zone has changed its standard time twice since 1970, the second-most of the 8 zones on Atlantic islands. The Azores left local mean time (UTC−1:42:40) in 1884, tied for the earliest switch among the 8 zones on Atlantic islands.
UTC−1
Standard time is UTC−1; clocks go forward to UTC+0 on the last Sunday in March and back on the last Sunday in October.
Summer time in 45 of 57 years since 1970
Before 1970
Standard time changes
| Date | Change | New standard time | Clock label |
|---|---|---|---|
| Before 1970 | |||
| January 1, 1884 | Local mean time (UTC−1:42:40) replaced | UTC−1:54:32 | HMT |
| January 1, 1912 | Standard time back 5 minutes | UTC−2 | numeric only |
| October 2, 1966 | Summer offset kept as standard time; clocks did not move | UTC−1 | numeric only |
| Since 1970 | |||
| December 27, 1992 | Standard time forward 1 hour | UTC+0 | WET |
| June 17, 1993 | Standard time back 1 hour | UTC−1 | numeric only |
Daylight saving periods
| Years | Clocks go forward | Clocks go back | Shift and labels |
|---|---|---|---|
| Before 1970 | |||
| 1916 | June 17 | November 1 | 1 hour |
| 1917–1921 | 1 March, 00:00 | 15 October, 00:00 | 1 hour |
| 1924 | April 16 | October 5 | 1 hour |
| 1926 | April 17 | October 3 | 1 hour |
| 1927–1928 | second Saturday in April, 23:00 | first Sunday in October, 00:00 | 1 hour |
| 1929 | April 20 | October 6 | 1 hour |
| 1931 | April 18 | October 4 | 1 hour |
| 1932 | April 2 | October 2 | 1 hour |
| 1934 | April 7 | October 7 | 1 hour |
| 1935 | March 30 | October 6 | 1 hour |
| 1936 | April 18 | October 4 | 1 hour |
| 1937 | April 3 | October 3 | 1 hour |
| 1938 | March 26 | October 2 | 1 hour |
| 1939 | April 15 | November 19 | 1 hour |
| 1940 | February 24 | October 8 | 1 hour |
| 1941 | April 5 | October 6 | 1 hour |
| 1942–1945 | dates set year by year (listed below) | 1 hour | |
| 1946–1947 | 6 April, 23:00 | first Sunday in October, 00:00 | 1 hour |
| 1948–1965 | first Sunday in April, 02:00 | first Sunday in October, 03:00 | 1 hour |
| 1966 | April 3 | not that year | 1 hour |
| Since 1970 | |||
| 1982–1995 | last Sunday in March, 00:00 | last Sunday in September, 01:00 | 1 hour |
| 1996–2037 | last Sunday in March, 00:00 | last Sunday in October, 01:00 | 1 hour |
1942–1945, year by year
- 1942 forward March 14, April 25; back August 16, October 25
- 1943 forward March 13, April 17; back August 29, October 31
- 1944 forward March 11, April 22; back August 27, October 29
- 1945 forward March 10, April 21; back August 26, October 28
Clock changes in 2026, 2027 and 2028
The clocks go forward 1 hour on March 29, 2026, March 28, 2027 and March 26, 2028 at 00:00 and back 1 hour on October 25, 2026, October 31, 2027 and October 29, 2028 at 01:00, local time.
Also on UTC−1
Clocks next door since 1970
- Madeira (977 km): usually 1 hour ahead; different on 179 days in 1982–1986, 1992 and 1993.
- Canary Islands (Spain) (1,435 km): usually 1 hour ahead; different on 529 days in 1980, 1981, 1992 and 1993.
- Lisbon (1,446 km): usually 1 hour ahead; different on 4,472 days in 1970–1985 and 1992–1996.
- Western Sahara (1,656 km): usually 1 hour ahead; different on 9,984 days in 1970–1978 and 1982–2026.
- Morocco (1,692 km): usually 1 hour ahead; different on 7,672 days in 1974, 1976–1978 and 1982–2026.
How it compares
In 1942 the clocks were changed 4 times.
On standard time, clocks in the Azores run 43 minutes ahead of local mean solar time.