| British Summer Time | |
|---|---|
| Time zone | |
| UTC offset | |
| UTC | UTC+01:00 |
| Current time | |
| 20:57, 21 November 2024 GMT [refresh] | |
| Observance of DST | |
| This time zone is only used for DST. For the rest of the year, GMT is used. | |
| Light Blue | Western European Time / Greenwich Mean Time (UTC) |
| Blue | Western European Time / Greenwich Mean Time (UTC) |
| Western European Summer Time / British Summer Time / Irish Standard Time (UTC+1) | |
| Red | Central European Time (UTC+1) |
| Central European Summer Time (UTC+2) | |
| Yellow | Eastern European Time / Kaliningrad Time (UTC+2) |
| Ochre | Eastern European Time (UTC+2) |
| Eastern European Summer Time (UTC+3) | |
| Green | Moscow Time / Turkey Time (UTC+3) |
| Turquoise | Armenia Time / Azerbaijan Time / Georgia Time / Samara Time (UTC+4) |
▉▉▉ Dark colours: Summer time observed
During British Summer Time (BST), civil time in the United Kingdom is advanced one hour forward of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), in effect changing the time zone from UTC+00:00 to UTC+01:00, so that mornings have one hour less daylight, and evenings one hour more.[1][2]
BST begins at 01:00 GMT every year on the last Sunday of March and ends at 02:00 BST on the last Sunday of October. The starting and finishing times of daylight saving were aligned across the European Union on 22 October 1995, and the UK retained this alignment after it left the EU;[3] both BST and Central European Summer Time begin and end on the same Sundays at 02:00 Central European Time, 01:00 GMT. Between 1972 and 1995, the BST period was defined as "beginning at two o'clock, Greenwich mean time, in the morning of the day after the third Saturday in March or, if that day is Easter Day, the day after the second Saturday in March, and ending at two o'clock, Greenwich mean time, in the morning of the day after the fourth Saturday in October."[4][5]
The following table lists recent-past and near-future start and end dates of British Summer Time:[6]
| Year | Start | End |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 28 March | 31 October |
| 2022 | 27 March | 30 October |
| 2023 | 26 March | 29 October |
| 2024 | 31 March | 27 October |
| 2025 | 30 March | 26 October |
| 2026 | 29 March | 25 October |
| 2027 | 28 March | 31 October |
- ^ Text of the Summer Time Act 1972 as in force today (including any amendments) within the United Kingdom, from legislation.gov.uk.
- ^ Text of the Interpretation Act 1978 as in force today (including any amendments) within the United Kingdom, from legislation.gov.uk.
- ^ "Summer Time Dates". National Physical Laboratory. Archived from the original on 24 June 2018. Retrieved 2 April 2013.
- ^ "British Summer Time". Archived from the original on 5 August 2014. Retrieved 2014-08-26.
- ^ "Summer Time Act 1972 ss enacted". Retrieved 2018-03-20.
- ^ "When Do the Clocks Change?", Gov.uk. Retrieved 21 October 2014.