Timezone details
- Identifier
- Abbreviation
- —
- Transitioned
- March 29, 2026 at 02:00 AM
- Featured city
- Lisbon
Europe • Lisbon
PortugalCurrent local time
05:14:29
Sunday, May 31, 2026
UTC offset
UTC+01:00
Status
Daylight saving
Next transition
October 25, 2026 at 01:00 AM
Lisbon toggles between daylight and standard time annually. Clocks fall back by one hour in 5 months (October 25, 2026 at 01:00 AM).
Daylight saving since
March 29, 2026 at 02:00 AM
2 months ago
Standard time resumes on
October 25, 2026 at 01:00 AM
in 5 months
30% through the current daylight saving season.
Western European Standard Time (WET)
Western European Standard Time (WET) covers a patchwork of Atlantic island groups and mainland Portugal, where life runs on the calm of Greenwich Mean Time for much of the year but shifts forward by one hour in summer to soak up the long daylight of the European year. Every member zone—including the Canary Islands, Faroe Islands, Madeira, and Lisbon—follows the same daylight-savings rhythm, making scheduling across the region straightforward once you know the spring-forward and fall-back dates involved.
During standard time (roughly late October to late March), the region aligns with Greenwich Mean Time, so the baseline offset is UTC+00:00.
All member zones move clocks one hour ahead at 01:00 UTC on the last Sunday of March, turning WET into WEST.
Yes, every listed zone that starts in WET shifts to WEST in summer; there is no WET member that stays on standard time all year.
The main members are the Canary Islands (Spain), Faroe Islands (Denmark), Madeira (Portugal), and mainland Portugal (Europe/Lisbon).
Although part of Spain, the Canary Islands sit on WET / WEST instead of Central European Time, keeping them one hour behind Madrid and aligned with the Atlantic-facing parts of Portugal.
When WEST is active, mornings start and evenings linger in daylight, which suits tourism and cross-Atlantic coordination; conversely, in standard-time months the earlier sunsets encourage earlier work schedules.
Historically, these archipelagos coordinated telegraph and shipping schedules with London and Lisbon, anchoring them to Greenwich Mean Time and the same daylight-saving cycle.
During summer (WEST vs. CEST), both regions are on daylight saving, so the hour difference remains consistent, but in winter WET lags CET by one hour year-round.
On the last Sunday of October, clocks go back from 02:00 WEST to 01:00 WET, restoring the standard-time offset.