Time zone · Europe
WEST
Western European Summer Time
Western European Summer Time (WEST) rolls its clocks forward by an hour each spring across a compact but far-flung group of Atlantic and mainland zones—from the sun-drenched Canary Islands to the misty Faroe Islands—creating a shared window of brighter evenings and slightly easier coordination for workdays that stretch into the local evening. All members observe daylight saving time on the same EUMETNET transition dates, so the region always ticks in step even as geography spans zero degrees of longitude and a wide range of cultures.
Sunday, May 31, 2026
Current offset
UTC+01:00
Daylight · WEST
Daylight saving
Active
Reverts 25 Oct 2026
IANA zones
4
4 observe DST, 0 don't
DST offset
—
No summer variant
About WEST
Standard time, with a summer shift.
Western European Summer Time (WEST) rolls its clocks forward by an hour each spring across a compact but far-flung group of Atlantic and mainland zones—from the sun-drenched Canary Islands to the misty Faroe Islands—creating a shared window of brighter evenings and slightly easier coordination for workdays that stretch into the local evening.
All members observe daylight saving time on the same EUMETNET transition dates, so the region always ticks in step even as geography spans zero degrees of longitude and a wide range of cultures.
IANA zones · the technical identifiers
The 4 zones that resolve to WEST.
For software, always store the IANA identifier — never the abbreviation alone. The database keeps these zones distinct because their rules can, and historically did, diverge.
Cities currently on WEST
The same hour, city by city.
3 cities · all UTC+01:00
Where WEST is used
3 countries.
Same offset · UTC+01:00
Other zones at UTC+01:00 right now.
These named zones share WEST's offset today. When daylight saving rules differ, they drift apart for part of the year.
Frequently asked questions
Common questions about WEST, daylight saving, and how to handle it in software. Can't find what you need? Email [email protected].
- Which countries and territories use WEST?
- WEST is observed in the Canary Islands (Spain), the Faroe Islands, Madeira (Portugal), and mainland Portugal (Lisbon region time zone). Despite spanning both Atlantic archipelagos and continental Europe, they all follow the same EUMETNET DST switch dates.
- Does the whole region change clocks at the same time?
- Yes. All four member zones switch simultaneously using the EU-aligned schedule: forward 1 hour on the last Sunday in March at 01:00 UTC and back 1 hour on the last Sunday in October at 01:00 UTC.
- How does WEST compare to neighboring regions?
- During summer, WEST matches Western European Time (WET) countries like Ireland and the UK with their BST offset (UTC+01:00), making collaboration seamless. But countries further east (CET zone) move to CEST (UTC+02:00), so WEST is usually one hour behind them.
- Why do the Canary Islands observe summer time if they're on the same longitude as London?
- Historically, the Canary Islands aligned with Spanish mainland time (CET/CEST). In 1940 this shifted the islands to UTC+00:00 (WET). They then adopted WEST (UTC+01:00) during summer just like other WET regions to keep daily life aligned with natural longitude (sunrise ~ 7-8 am, not 6‑7 am).
- Is WEST ever the same as CET?
- No. Central European Time (CET) is UTC+01:00 in summer, while WEST is UTC+01:00 as well—but CET applies to regions like Madrid, Berlin, or Paris which are geographically east of the WEST zones. The offsets overlap numerically, yet the regions are distinct in practice.
- Do any WEST zones opt out of daylight saving?
- Currently none do. All members—including the Canary Islands, Faroe Islands, Madeira, and Lisbon—follow the EU-aligned schedule. Portugal abandoned year-round CET in 1996 and returned to WET/WEST, so no permanent UTC+01:00 zone exists here yet.
- How does living in WST feel?
- Mornings are slightly darker, but evenings are significantly longer—sunset can stretch past 9 pm in midsummer—which many locals and seasonal workers appreciate for social life and tourism.
- Quick tip: meeting someone in both London and the Canaries?
- During summer (late March to late October), both the UK (BST) and WEST are at UTC+01:00, so time differences vanish for scheduling. Outside that window, remember the UK (GMT, UTC+00:00) leads the Canaries by one hour.
Free · Developer API
Time, as JSON.
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