What time is it in Portugal?
WET / WEST · Europe/Lisbon
Back to PortugalNow in Lisbon
WET UTC+00:00
UTC+00:00
UTC+01:00 in summerWestern European Standard Time
Mainland Portugal and Madeira keep Western European Time, level with Greenwich, while the Azores run an hour behind them at UTC-1. All three put their clocks forward an hour on the last Sunday in March and back on the last Sunday in October, so Lisbon stays exactly one hour ahead of the Azores through the year. The time zone database carries three zones for the country: Europe/Lisbon, Atlantic/Madeira and Atlantic/Azores.
Today
Daylight in Lisbon today
DayLive
12:00
- Sunrise
- 07:29First light 07:02
- Sunset
- 19:25Last light 19:52
- Day length
- 11 h 56 min−3 min on yesterday
- Solar noon
- 13:27Sun at 50°, its highest
Plan a call
Find an hour that works in Portugal 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 Portugal is from other places
Neighbours
- SpainMadrid+1 h
Around the world
- LondonSame time
- New York−5 h
- Los Angeles−8 h
- São Paulo−4 h
- Moscow+2 h
- Dubai+3 h
- Delhi+4:30 h
- Beijing+7 h
- Tokyo+8 h
- Sydney+9 h
Clock changes
When the clocks change in Portugal
Next change
Sunday, 25 October 2026
Clocks go back one hour: at 02:00 it becomes 01:00 WET, UTC+00:00. The night is an hour longer.
| Year | Clocks go forward | Clocks go back |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 29 March 01:00 → 02:00 | 25 October 02:00 → 01:00 |
| 2027 | 28 March 01:00 → 02:00 | 31 October 02:00 → 01:00 |
| 2028 | 26 March 01:00 → 02:00 | 29 October 02:00 → 01:00 |
| 2029 | 25 March 01:00 → 02:00 | 28 October 02:00 → 01:00 |
| 2030 | 31 March 01:00 → 02:00 | 27 October 02:00 → 01:00 |
Summer time, hora de Verão, came to Portugal in 1916, during the First World War, and ran from 17 June to 1 November that first year. It was kept most years after, with gaps in 1922, 1923, 1925, 1930 and 1933. From 1942 to 1945 the clocks went forward a second hour for some months of each year, two hours ahead of Greenwich. A law of 1948 fixed the season from the first Sunday in April to the first Sunday in October. From 1966 the mainland stayed on summer time all year, in effect UTC+1, until complaints about dark winter mornings brought Western European Time back in 1976. Mainland Portugal tried Central European Time again from 1992, this time with UTC+2 in summer, and returned to Western European Time in 1996, taking the October end date then set by European Union rules.
The European Parliament voted on 26 March 2019 for a directive ending seasonal clock changes, with each member state picking permanent summer or winter time. Portugal, like Spain and Italy, favoured keeping the present twice-yearly change. The directive still lacks the Council's approval, and a plenary debate in the Parliament on 23 October 2025 set no date, so all three Portuguese zones go on changing.
Daylight
Sunrise and sunset through the year in Lisbon
- Sunrise
- 07:29
- Sunset
- 19:25
- Daylight
- 11 h 56 min
- Change
- −3 min
Longest day of 2026: 19 June, 14 h 53 min.
Computed for 38.71, -9.14 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
- 05/03/26
- Long date
- 5 de março de 2026
- Week starts
- Sunday
- Zone names
- WET / WEST
- Time zone database
- Lisbon
History
How the clocks in Portugal got here
- 1890
- To 1911.Local mean time, UTC-00:36, before the standard zone.
- 1912
- To 1915.UTC+00:00 all year, no summer time.
- 1916
- To 1921.UTC+00:00 in winter, UTC+01:00 in summer time.
- 1922
- To 1923.UTC+00:00 all year, no summer time.
- 1924
- UTC+00:00 in winter, UTC+01:00 in summer time.
- 1925
- UTC+00:00 all year, no summer time.
- 1926
- To 1929.UTC+00:00 in winter, UTC+01:00 in summer time.
- 1930
- UTC+00:00 all year, no summer time.
- 1931
- To 1932.UTC+00:00 in winter, UTC+01:00 in summer time.
- 1933
- UTC+00:00 all year, no summer time.
- 1934
- To 1941.UTC+00:00 in winter, UTC+01:00 in summer time.
- 1942
- To 1945.Clocks on UTC+00:00, UTC+01:00, UTC+02:00 at different times of the year.
- 1946
- To 1965.UTC+00:00 in winter, UTC+01:00 in summer time.
- 1966
- UTC+00:00 in winter, UTC+01:00 in summer time.
- 1967
- To 1975.Summer time kept through the winter: UTC+01:00 all year.
- 1976
- UTC+00:00 in winter, UTC+01:00 in summer time.
- 1977
- To 1991.UTC+00:00 in winter, UTC+01:00 in summer time.
- 1992
- UTC+00:00 in winter, UTC+01:00 in summer time.
- 1993
- To 1995.Clocks on UTC+01:00, UTC+02:00 at different times of the year.
- 1996
- UTC+00:00 in winter, UTC+01:00 in summer time.
- 1997
- To today.UTC+00:00 in winter, UTC+01:00 in summer time.
From the IANA time zone database, Europe/Lisbon, as the build machine carries it.
Common questions
Questions about the time in Portugal
What time zone is Portugal in?
Two. Continental Portugal and Madeira use Western European Time, UTC+0, and Western European Summer Time, UTC+1, from late March to late October. The Azores use UTC-1 in winter and UTC+0 in summer. Most of the mainland lies west of the 7°30'W meridian, so by longitude alone it would sit in the UTC-1 zone; the 1911 decree that set the country's time chose Greenwich instead.
When do the clocks change in Portugal in 2026?
On the mainland and in Madeira clocks went forward on 29 March 2026, from 01:00 to 02:00, and go back on 25 October, from 02:00 to 01:00. The Azores change at the same instant, which on their clocks is an hour earlier. In 2027 the dates are 28 March and 31 October.
Is Portugal on the same time as Spain?
No. Spain keeps Central European Time, so Madrid is one hour ahead of Lisbon all year, and the Azores are two hours behind Spain. Both countries change their clocks on the same Sundays, so the gap never closes. Portugal shares its clock with Ireland and the United Kingdom instead, where summer time runs on the same dates.
Why did Portugal switch to Central European Time and then back?
Decree-Law 124/92 moved the mainland to Central European Time in 1992, to save energy and to keep working hours in line with the countries Portugal dealt with most. It proved unpopular. On winter mornings the sun was still rising at 09:00, and in summer it set as late as 22:30. A study for the European Commission found no energy saved, because office lights switched on in the dark mornings stayed on. After a report by the Lisbon Astronomical Observatory, Decree-Law 17/96 restored Western European Time in 1996.
Do Madeira and the Azores have the same time as Lisbon?
Madeira does, and has since 1976. The Azores are an hour behind Lisbon all year. The 1911 decree that took effect on 1 January 1912 had put Madeira at UTC-1 and the Azores at UTC-2, an hour further west each than today. In 1996 both regional parliaments passed their own laws adopting the European summer-time dates, so the whole country changes on the same nights.
Will Portugal stop changing the clocks?
Not for the time being. The European Parliament approved ending the seasonal change in March 2019, but the Council of the European Union has not, and Portugal was one of the states that preferred to keep the current arrangement. Portugal's own history weighs on the choice: its two spells on permanent UTC+1, from 1966 to 1976 and from 1992 to 1996, both ended with a return to Western European Time.
What is the time difference between Lisbon and New York?
Five hours for most of the year. The United States changes its clocks on other Sundays, so for a few weeks the gap shrinks to four hours: in 2026 from 8 to 28 March and from 25 to 31 October, and in 2027 from 14 to 27 March and from 31 October to 6 November. Noon in New York is usually 17:00 in Lisbon and 16:00 in the Azores.
Portugal has 3 zones; this page reads the capital’s. All figures