Madeira time zone history
On standard time, clocks at Madeira run 1 hour 8 minutes ahead of local mean solar time, the largest gap of the 8 zones on Atlantic islands. Madeira left local mean time (UTC−1:07:36) in 1884, tied for the earliest switch among the 8 zones on Atlantic islands. In 1942 the clocks were changed 4 times.
UTC+0
Standard time is UTC+0 (WEST/WET); clocks go forward to UTC+1 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−1:07:36) replaced | UTC−1:07:36 | FMT |
| December 31, 1911 | Standard time forward 8 minutes | UTC−1 | numeric only |
| October 2, 1966 | Summer offset kept as standard time; clocks did not move | UTC+0 | WET |
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 | April 4 | September 26 | 1 hour, WET to WEST |
| 1983–1995 | last Sunday in March, 00:00 | last Sunday in September, 01:00 | 1 hour, WET to WEST |
| 1996–2037 | last Sunday in March, 01:00 | last Sunday in October, 02:00 | 1 hour, WET to WEST |
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 (WET to WEST) on March 29, 2026, March 28, 2027 and March 26, 2028 at 01:00 and back 1 hour (WEST to WET) on October 25, 2026, October 31, 2027 and October 29, 2028 at 02:00, local time.
Also on UTC+0
Canary Islands (Spain), Western Sahara, Morocco, Lisbon (Portugal), Guinea-Bissau, United Kingdom, Liberia, Côte d’Ivoire, Faroe Islands and São Tomé and Príncipe (nearest first; 2 more on the list of offsets).
Clocks next door since 1970
- Canary Islands (Spain) (524 km): same time except 364 days in 1980–1986.
- Western Sahara (706 km): same time except 9,886 days in 1970–1978 and 1982–2026.
- Morocco (874 km): same time except 7,574 days in 1974, 1976–1978 and 1982–2026.
- Lisbon (974 km): same time except 4,651 days in 1970–1982, 1986 and 1992–1996.
- Azores (977 km): usually 1 hour behind; different on 179 days in 1982–1986, 1992 and 1993.
How it compares
Clocks were first moved for daylight saving in 1916, tied for the earliest start among the 9 zones on UTC+0 standard time that ever used daylight saving time.
Standard time has stayed at UTC+0 since 1966.