What time is it in Malta?
CET / CEST · Europe/Malta
Back to MaltaNow in Valletta
CET UTC+01:00
UTC+01:00
UTC+02:00 in summerCentral European Standard Time
Malta sets its clocks to Central European Time, one hour ahead of UTC, and puts them forward an hour to Central European Summer Time from the last Sunday in March until the last Sunday in October. Malta, Gozo and Comino share a single zone, Europe/Malta, the only entry the time zone database holds for the country, and it keeps the same hour as Sicily, about 80 km to the north.
Today
Daylight in Valletta today
DayLive
12:00
- Sunrise
- 06:54First light 06:28
- Sunset
- 18:51Last light 19:16
- Day length
- 11 h 57 min−3 min on yesterday
- Solar noon
- 12:52Sun at 52°, its highest
Plan a call
Find an hour that works in Malta and elsewhere
The two rows are the same day, hour for hour. Pick a city, then an hour, and the line between the rows marks the office hours both sides share.
Time difference
How far Malta is from other places
Neighbours
- ItalyRomeSame time
Around the world
- London−1 h
- New York−6 h
- Los Angeles−9 h
- São Paulo−5 h
- Moscow+1 h
- Dubai+2 h
- Delhi+3:30 h
- Beijing+6 h
- Tokyo+7 h
- Sydney+8 h
Clock changes
When the clocks change in Malta
Next change
Sunday, 25 October 2026
Clocks go back one hour: at 03:00 it becomes 02:00 CET, UTC+01:00. The night is an hour longer.
| Year | Clocks go forward | Clocks go back |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 29 March 02:00 → 03:00 | 25 October 03:00 → 02:00 |
| 2027 | 28 March 02:00 → 03:00 | 31 October 03:00 → 02:00 |
| 2028 | 26 March 02:00 → 03:00 | 29 October 03:00 → 02:00 |
| 2029 | 25 March 02:00 → 03:00 | 28 October 03:00 → 02:00 |
| 2030 | 31 March 02:00 → 03:00 | 27 October 03:00 → 02:00 |
Until 1893 Malta kept a local mean time 58 minutes ahead of Greenwich, then moved to UTC+1. Summer time arrived in 1916, while the islands were a British Crown colony, and was dropped after 1920. It came back in 1940 and lasted until 1948; for the whole of 1941 the clocks stood at UTC+2 and were never put back. After seventeen years without it, summer time returned in 1966 and has been kept every year since. Those years match Italy's exactly. Since Malta joined the European Union on 1 May 2004 its dates have followed the Union's directive, which sets both changes at 01:00 UTC.
The European Parliament backed an end to seasonal clock changes on 26 March 2019, with each member state to settle on permanent summer or winter time from 2021. The Council of the European Union has to approve the directive too, and as of March 2026 it had not. A Parliament debate on 23 October 2025 again called for the changes to stop without naming a date, so Maltese clocks still move twice a year.
Daylight
Sunrise and sunset through the year in Valletta
- Sunrise
- 06:54
- Sunset
- 18:51
- Daylight
- 11 h 57 min
- Change
- −3 min
Longest day of 2026: 18 June, 14 h 36 min.
Computed for 35.90, 14.51 at sea level with the NOAA solar equations, to the nearest minute, taking no account of hills.
Writing the time
- Clock
- 24-hour
- Short date
- 05/03/2026
- Long date
- 5 ta’ Marzu 2026
- Week starts
- Sunday
- Zone names
- CET / CEST
- Time zone database
- Malta
History
How the clocks in Malta got here
- 1890
- To 1892.Local mean time, UTC+00:58, before the standard zone.
- 1893
- The move from local mean time, UTC+00:58, to UTC+01:00.
- 1894
- To 1915.UTC+01:00 all year, no summer time.
- 1916
- To 1920.UTC+01:00 in winter, UTC+02:00 in summer time.
- 1921
- To 1939.UTC+01:00 all year, no summer time.
- 1940
- UTC+01:00 in winter, UTC+02:00 in summer time.
- 1941
- Summer time kept through the winter: UTC+02:00 all year.
- 1942
- UTC+01:00 in winter, UTC+02:00 in summer time.
- 1943
- To 1948.UTC+01:00 in winter, UTC+02:00 in summer time.
- 1949
- To 1965.UTC+01:00 all year, no summer time.
- 1966
- To today.UTC+01:00 in winter, UTC+02:00 in summer time.
From the IANA time zone database, Europe/Malta, as the build machine carries it.
Common questions
Questions about the time in Malta
What time zone is Malta in?
Central European Time, UTC+1, in winter, and Central European Summer Time, UTC+2, between the last Sunday in March and the last Sunday in October. The archipelago has one zone, listed in the time zone database as Europe/Malta, so Valletta and the islands of Gozo and Comino all keep the same hour.
When do the clocks change in Malta in 2026?
They went forward on Sunday 29 March 2026, when 02:00 became 03:00, and they go back on Sunday 25 October, when 03:00 becomes 02:00 again. Each change takes place at 01:00 UTC, the same instant in every member state of the European Union. In 2027 the dates are 28 March and 31 October, and in 2028 they are 26 March and 29 October.
Is Malta on the same time as Italy?
Yes, on every day of the year. Sicily lies about 80 km north of Malta, and Italy uses the same offsets, UTC+1 in winter and UTC+2 in summer, under the same European rule. The two histories agree as well: summer time from 1916 to 1920, again from 1940 to 1948, and every year from 1966 onwards.
When did Malta start using summer time?
In 1916, when Malta was a British Crown colony, and it lasted until 1920. It returned from 1940 to 1948, a spell in which the clocks stayed at UTC+2 through all of 1941. Then came seventeen years with no summer time at all. It resumed in 1966 and has not been skipped since.
Will Malta stop changing the clocks?
No date has been set. A proposal to end the twice-yearly change passed the European Parliament on 26 March 2019, and it would have let each member state choose summer or winter time for good from 2021. It still needs the Council of the European Union, which had not approved it as of March 2026. When the Parliament debated the subject again on 23 October 2025, speakers agreed the changes should end, but no timetable followed, and Malta goes on changing its clocks in March and October like the rest of the Union.
What is the time difference between Malta and London?
One hour, whatever the season. Malta and the United Kingdom move their clocks at 01:00 UTC on the same Sundays in March and October, so the gap never narrows or widens: 08:00 in London is 09:00 in Valletta in January and in July alike.