Time change 2025: All information about the change to winter time on October 26
In spring, the clocks go forward one hour to daylight saving time. While this means we get an hour less sleep, it also means it gets dark later. In October, it's the other way around: an hour more sleep, but the days are shorter again. When exactly is the next time change?
- The second time change in 2025 will take place in October . On the last weekend in October, the clocks will switch from daylight saving time to standard time (also known colloquially as winter time).
- Specifically, this means: On Sunday, October 26, 2025, the clocks will go back one hour at 3 a.m., so 3 a.m. will become 2 a.m.
- By switching to standard time we are “given” an hour .
Germany does it. Great Britain does it too. Trump finds it a nuisance, and Egypt has abolished and reintroduced daylight saving time several times. What applies where? A trip around the world.
In principle, the annual time change is simple, but the change from earlier to later and vice versa often causes confusion. However, there are some helpful mnemonics that can help in times of doubt:
- “In summer you put the garden chairs in front of the house, and in winter you put them back.”
- “Spring forward, fall back.” - An English play on words, in spring “to jump forward, in autumn “to fall back.”
- “Always towards summer.” - So in spring, one hour forward and in autumn one hour back.
- “2-3-2 rule” – In spring from 2 to 3, in autumn from 3 to 2.
If you use a radio-controlled clock, you don't have to manually adjust your clock. It is usually adjusted automatically via a signal from the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB) in Braunschweig. Most smartphones also adjust the time automatically, unless the corresponding function has been deactivated.
In some cases, however, digital displays, such as those in household appliances or cars, also have to be adjusted manually.
The end of daylight saving time has been in sight for some time, with a majority of EU citizens supporting its abolition in a 2018 survey. 84 percent of respondents, a large proportion of them from Germany and Austria, stated that they want to permanently forgo daylight saving time.
Implementation, however, is slow. While EU citizens have already expressed their will, a majority of member states have not yet taken a clear position. For the change to take effect, the relevant ministers of the EU member states must reach a majority agreement. A planned end to daylight saving time in 2021 passed without a decision, and further dates for its abolition in 2024 were canceled by the Presidency of the Council of the EU.
This year, 2025, the talks will resume under the new Council Presidency.
What is now popularly referred to as winter time was standard time in Germany between 1950 and 1980. In the wake of the oil crisis in the 1970s, France decided to introduce daylight saving time in 1976 for energy policy reasons. Many member states of the European Community, the predecessor of today's EU, followed suit, primarily for economic reasons.
In the Federal Republic of Germany, however, the time change was also controversial due to the division into East and West. After the GDR introduced daylight saving time in 1979, the Federal Republic followed suit a year later. A divided time in an already divided country was to be avoided at all costs.
Within the EU, clocks have been changed according to uniform rules in all member states since 1996. On the last Sunday in March and October, the time is set forward one hour and back one hour, respectively.
The seasonal time change is harder for some people than others. This is especially true for daylight saving time. When the day suddenly becomes an hour "shorter," some people's circadian rhythms are thrown off sync. For example, fatigue and depression are common in the first few days after the time change.
How strongly people and animals react to the time change varies from individual to individual. While the change seems to pass without a trace for some, for others it can take several weeks.
This question has been hotly debated since the time change was introduced. One of the main reasons originally put forward as an argument for the time change has long since been refuted. While the increased daylight in summer results in less energy consumption during these months, this minimal saving effect is offset by winter time, as heating is switched on earlier in the morning.
The change to standard time is considered less problematic, as it brings with it a 25-hour Sunday, which many people perceive as particularly relaxing. While this also disrupts the circadian rhythm a bit, the "free hour" is perceived more positively than negatively.
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