What time is it in Poland?
CET / CEST · Europe/Warsaw
Back to PolandNow in Warsaw
CET UTC+01:00
UTC+01:00
UTC+02:00 in summerCentral European Standard Time
Poland has a single time zone, Europe/Warsaw: Central European Time, czas środkowoeuropejski in Polish, one hour ahead of UTC, and Central European Summer Time, UTC+2, from the last Sunday in March to the last Sunday in October. The clocks go forward at 02:00 and back at 03:00, on the same night as the rest of the European Union, and the time in Warsaw is the time across the whole country.
Today
Daylight in Warsaw today
DayLive
12:00
- Sunrise
- 06:31First light 05:57
- Sunset
- 18:22Last light 18:56
- Day length
- 11 h 51 min−4 min on yesterday
- Solar noon
- 12:26Sun at 36°, its highest
Plan a call
Find an hour that works in Poland 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 Poland is from other places
Neighbours
- BelarusMinsk+1 h
- CzechiaPragueSame time
- GermanyBerlinSame time
- LithuaniaVilnius+1 h
- RussiaMoscow+1 h
- SlovakiaBratislavaSame time
- UkraineKyiv+1 h
Around the world
- London−1 h
- New York−6 h
- Los Angeles−9 h
- São Paulo−5 h
- Dubai+2 h
- Delhi+3:30 h
- Beijing+6 h
- Tokyo+7 h
- Sydney+8 h
Clock changes
When the clocks change in Poland
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 |
Before the First World War the country kept Warsaw mean time, UTC+01:24, the local time of the Warsaw meridian. Warsaw moved to Central European Time on 5 August 1915, and the rest of Poland adopted it on 31 May 1922 under the Act of 11 May 1922 on the reckoning of time. Summer time was first kept from 1916 to 1919 and again from 1940 to 1949; after 1945 a resolution of the Council of Ministers set it from 1946, and a second resolution ended it on 21 September 1949. It returned from 1957 to 1964 and has been kept every year since 1977. From 1979 to 1995 it ended on the last Sunday of September, and in 1996 the end moved to the last Sunday of October, to match the other countries of the European Union.
The European Parliament voted on 26 March 2019 to end seasonal clock changes from 2021, with each member state picking permanent summer or winter time. Poland was among the states that favoured staying on summer time, UTC+2, all year. The Council of the European Union had not approved the directive as of March 2026, and a plenary debate on 23 October 2025 set no date, so Polish clocks still change twice a year.
Daylight
Sunrise and sunset through the year in Warsaw
- Sunrise
- 06:31
- Sunset
- 18:22
- Daylight
- 11 h 51 min
- Change
- −4 min
Longest day of 2026: 19 June, 16 h 47 min.
Computed for 52.23, 21.01 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
- 5.03.2026
- Long date
- 5 marca 2026
- Week starts
- Monday
- Zone names
- CET / CEST
- Time zone database
- Warsaw
History
How the clocks in Poland got here
- 1890
- To 1914.Local mean time, UTC+01:24, before the standard zone.
- 1915
- The move from local mean time, UTC+01:24, to UTC+01:00.
- 1916
- To 1917.UTC+01:00 in winter, UTC+02:00 in summer time.
- 1918
- UTC+01:00 in winter, UTC+02:00 in summer time.
- 1919
- Clocks on UTC+02:00, UTC+03:00 at different times of the year.
- 1920
- To 1921.Summer time kept through the winter: UTC+02:00 all year.
- 1922
- UTC+01:00 in winter, UTC+02:00 in summer time.
- 1923
- 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 1949.UTC+01:00 in winter, UTC+02:00 in summer time.
- 1950
- To 1956.UTC+01:00 all year, no summer time.
- 1957
- To 1964.UTC+01:00 in winter, UTC+02:00 in summer time.
- 1965
- To 1976.UTC+01:00 all year, no summer time.
- 1977
- To today.UTC+01:00 in winter, UTC+02:00 in summer time.
From the IANA time zone database, Europe/Warsaw, as the build machine carries it.
Common questions
Questions about the time in Poland
What time zone is Poland in?
Central European Time, UTC+1, in winter and Central European Summer Time, UTC+2, from the last Sunday in March. The whole of Poland is on one zone, listed in the IANA time zone database as Europe/Warsaw, so there is no time difference between any two Polish cities.
When do the clocks change in Poland in 2026?
They went forward on Sunday 29 March 2026, from 02:00 to 03:00, and go back on Sunday 25 October, from 03:00 to 02:00. In 2027 the change comes on 28 March and 31 October. Poland follows the common European rule, so the dates are the last Sunday in March and the last Sunday in October every year.
What was Warsaw mean time?
The local mean time of the Warsaw meridian, 1 hour 24 minutes ahead of Greenwich, which Poland used in the 19th century. Warsaw left it for Central European Time on 5 August 1915, during the First World War. The rest of the country followed on 31 May 1922, when the Act of 11 May 1922 on the reckoning of time came into force and extended Central European Time to the whole country.
Since when has Poland had summer time?
Without a break since 1977. Earlier runs came in wartime, from 1916 to 1919 and from 1940 to 1949, the last years of it set by the Council of Ministers from 1946 until a resolution of 21 September 1949 ended it. It was kept again from 1957 to 1964. Until 1995 summer time ended in late September; since 1996 it has run to the last Sunday in October.
Will Poland stay on summer time permanently?
Not yet. When the European Union discussed ending the clock change in 2018 and 2019, Poland was one of the states that backed permanent summer time, UTC+2, along with Germany and France. The European Parliament approved the proposal on 26 March 2019, but the Council of the European Union has not, so the twice-yearly change goes on.
What is the time difference between Poland and London?
One hour, all year, with Poland ahead. Britain and Poland move their clocks at the same instant, 01:00 UTC on the last Sunday in March and the last Sunday in October, so the difference stays the same: noon in London is 13:00 in Warsaw in January and in July alike.
Do Poles use the 24-hour clock?
In writing, almost always: official documents use nothing else, and even informal written messages give times such as 14:30. In speech the 12-hour clock is common where the meaning is clear, with a Polish phrase for morning, afternoon or evening added when it is not. Dates are written day first, as 5.03.2026, and the week starts on Monday.