Western European Summer Time (
WEST) is a summer
daylight saving timeDaylight saving time is the convention of advancing clocks so that afternoons have more daylight and mornings have less. Typically clocks are adjusted forward one hour near the start of spring and are adjusted backward in autumn...
scheme, 1 hour ahead of
Coordinated Universal TimeCoordinated Universal Time , ) is a time standard based on International Atomic Time with leap seconds added at irregular intervals to compensate for the Earth's slowing rotation...
. It is used in the following places:
- the Canary Islands
The Canary Islands are a Spanish archipelago which, in turn, forms one of the Spanish Autonomous Communities and an Outermost Region of the European Union. The archipelago is located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100 km west of the disputed border between Morocco and the...
- the Faroe Islands
The Faroe Islands, sometimes Faeroe Islands, Faroe, or Faeroes are an island group situated between the Norwegian Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, approximately halfway between Scotland and Iceland...
- Ireland
Ireland is a country in north-western Europe. The modern sovereign state occupies about five-sixths of the island of Ireland, which was partitioned on 3 May 1921. It is a parliamentary democracy and a republic...
- the Crown dependencies
- the Madeira
Madeira is a Portuguese archipelago in the mid Atlantic Ocean that lies between and . It is one of the Autonomous regions of Portugal, with Madeira Island and Porto Santo Island being the only inhabited islands...
islands
- Continental Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of mainland Europe and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and south and by Spain to the north and east...
- the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
Western European Summer Time is also known by other names:
- British Summer Time
Western European Summer Time is a summer daylight saving time scheme, 1 hour ahead of Coordinated Universal Time. It is used in the following places:* the Canary Islands* the Faroe Islands* Ireland* the Crown dependencies* the Madeira islands...
(BST) in the United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
.
- Irish Standard Time (IST) ( (ACÉ)) in Ireland
Ireland is a country in north-western Europe. The modern sovereign state occupies about five-sixths of the island of Ireland, which was partitioned on 3 May 1921. It is a parliamentary democracy and a republic...
.
Western European Summer Time (
WEST) is a summer
daylight saving timeDaylight saving time is the convention of advancing clocks so that afternoons have more daylight and mornings have less. Typically clocks are adjusted forward one hour near the start of spring and are adjusted backward in autumn...
scheme, 1 hour ahead of
Coordinated Universal TimeCoordinated Universal Time , ) is a time standard based on International Atomic Time with leap seconds added at irregular intervals to compensate for the Earth's slowing rotation...
. It is used in the following places:
- the Canary Islands
The Canary Islands are a Spanish archipelago which, in turn, forms one of the Spanish Autonomous Communities and an Outermost Region of the European Union. The archipelago is located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100 km west of the disputed border between Morocco and the...
- the Faroe Islands
The Faroe Islands, sometimes Faeroe Islands, Faroe, or Faeroes are an island group situated between the Norwegian Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, approximately halfway between Scotland and Iceland...
- Ireland
Ireland is a country in north-western Europe. The modern sovereign state occupies about five-sixths of the island of Ireland, which was partitioned on 3 May 1921. It is a parliamentary democracy and a republic...
- the Crown dependencies
- the Madeira
Madeira is a Portuguese archipelago in the mid Atlantic Ocean that lies between and . It is one of the Autonomous regions of Portugal, with Madeira Island and Porto Santo Island being the only inhabited islands...
islands
- Continental Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of mainland Europe and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and south and by Spain to the north and east...
- the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
Western European Summer Time is also known by other names:
- British Summer Time
Western European Summer Time is a summer daylight saving time scheme, 1 hour ahead of Coordinated Universal Time. It is used in the following places:* the Canary Islands* the Faroe Islands* Ireland* the Crown dependencies* the Madeira islands...
(BST) in the United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
.
- Irish Standard Time (IST) ( (ACÉ)) in Ireland
Ireland is a country in north-western Europe. The modern sovereign state occupies about five-sixths of the island of Ireland, which was partitioned on 3 May 1921. It is a parliamentary democracy and a republic...
. Also sometimes erroneously referred to as Irish Summer Time .
The scheme runs from the last Sunday in March to the last Sunday in October each year. At both the start and end of the schemes, clock changes take place at 01:00 UTC. During the winter,
Greenwich Mean TimeGreenwich Mean Time is a term originally referring to mean solar time at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, London. It is commonly used in practice to refer to Coordinated Universal Time when this is viewed as a time zone, especially by bodies connected with the United Kingdom, such as the BBC...
(
UTC+0UTC±0 is the following time:*Coordinated Universal Time, the basis for the world's civil time, frequently referred to by the name of its predecessor, Greenwich Mean Time*Western European Time -As standard time :...
) is used.
The start and end dates of the scheme are somewhat asymmetrical in terms of daylight hours: the
vernalSpring is one of the four temperate seasons, the transition period between winter and summer. Its days are close to twelve hours long with increasing day length, as it occurs near the time of an equinox. In the Northern Hemisphere, spring runs from March into May, and in the Southern Hemisphere it...
time of year with a similar amount of daylight to late October is mid-February, well before the start of summer time. The asymmetry reflects temperature more than the length of daylight.
Usage
The following countries and territories use
Western European Summer Time during the summer, between 1:00 UTC on the last Sunday of March and 1:00 UTC on the last Sunday of October.
- Canary Islands
The Canary Islands are a Spanish archipelago which, in turn, forms one of the Spanish Autonomous Communities and an Outermost Region of the European Union. The archipelago is located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100 km west of the disputed border between Morocco and the...
, regularly since 1980 (rest of Spain is CESTCentral European Summer Time is one of the names of UTC+2 time zone, 2 hours ahead of Coordinated Universal Time. It is used as a summer daylight saving time in most European and some North African countries...
, i.e. UTC+2UTC+2 corresponds to the following time zones:-Central Africa Time: **Kasai-Occidental, Kasai-Oriental, Katanga, Maniema, Nord-Kivu, Orientale, Sud-Kivu...
)
- Faroe Islands
The Faroe Islands, sometimes Faeroe Islands, Faroe, or Faeroes are an island group situated between the Norwegian Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, approximately halfway between Scotland and Iceland...
, regularly since 1981
- Ireland
Ireland is a country in north-western Europe. The modern sovereign state occupies about five-sixths of the island of Ireland, which was partitioned on 3 May 1921. It is a parliamentary democracy and a republic...
- 1916–1939 summers IST
- 1940–1946 all year IST
- 1947–1968 summers IST
- 1968–1971 all year IST
- 1972— summers IST
- Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of mainland Europe and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and south and by Spain to the north and east...
- 1977–1992 WEST
- 1993–1995 CEST
Central European Summer Time is one of the names of UTC+2 time zone, 2 hours ahead of Coordinated Universal Time. It is used as a summer daylight saving time in most European and some North African countries...
- 1996— WEST (except Azores
The Azores is a Portuguese archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, about from Lisbon and about from the east coast of North America. The two westernmost Azorean islands actually lie on the North American plate...
, UTC)
- The United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
- 1916–1939 summers BST
- 1940–1945 all year BST (1941–1945 summers BDST=BST+1)
- 1946 summer BST
- 1947 summer BST (1947 summer BDST=BST+1)
- 1948–1968 summers BST
- 1968–1971 all year BST
- 1972— summers BST
Ireland
The Standard Time Act 1968 stipulated that standard time is GMT+1 (
CETCentral European Time , used in most European and some North African countries, is one of the names of the time zone that is 1 hour ahead of Coordinated Universal Time , with a time offset of normally UTC+1 ....
) and from 1968 clocks were not turned back one hour during winter.
The subsequent Standard Time (Amendment) Act, 1971 effectively reversed this, and from 1971 returned winter time to
Greenwich Mean TimeGreenwich Mean Time is a term originally referring to mean solar time at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, London. It is commonly used in practice to refer to Coordinated Universal Time when this is viewed as a time zone, especially by bodies connected with the United Kingdom, such as the BBC...
, it did not however change the names of the Irish summer time zone, which are still, officially, Irish Standard Time (IST) and Am Caighdeánach na hÉireann (ACÉ).
Portugal
PortugalPortugal , officially the Portuguese Republic , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of mainland Europe and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and south and by Spain to the north and east...
moved to Central European Time and Central European Summer Time in 1992, but reverted to Western European Time in 1996 after concluding that energy savings were small, it had a disturbing effect on children's sleeping habits as it would not get dark until 22:00 or 22:30 in summer evenings with repercussions on standards of learning and school performance, and insurance companies reported a rise in the number of accidents.
United Kingdom
Starting in 1916, the dates for the beginning and end of BST each year were mandated by the
Parliament of the United KingdomThe Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom and British overseas territories. It alone has parliamentary sovereignty, conferring upon it ultimate power over all other political bodies in the UK and its territories...
. In February 2002, the Summer Time Order 2002 permanently changed the dates and times to match European rules for moving to and from daylight saving time. The European compromise was closer to previous British practice than to the practice elsewhere in Europe.
Start and end dates of British Summer Time and Irish Standard Time
| Summer | | Ends (GMT) | | Ireland Notes |
|---|
| 2011 |
Sun 27 March 01:00 |
Sun 30 October 01:00 |
|
|
| 2010 |
Sun 28 March 01:00 |
Sun 31 October 01:00 |
|
|
| 2009 |
Sun 29 March 01:00 |
Sun 25 October 01:00 |
|
|
| 2008 |
Sun 30 March 01:00 |
Sun 26 October 01:00 |
|
|
| 2007 |
Sun 25 March 01:00 |
Sun 28 October 01:00 |
|
|
| 2006 |
Sun 26 March 01:00 |
Sun 29 October 01:00 |
|
|
| 2005 |
Sun 27 March 01:00 |
Sun 30 October 01:00 |
|
|
| 2004 |
Sun 28 March 01:00 |
Sun 31 October 01:00 |
|
|
| 2003 |
Sun 30 March 01:00 |
Sun 26 October 01:00 |
|
|
| 2002 |
Sun 31 March 01:00 |
Sun 27 October 01:00 |
EU adopts UK practice |
EU adopts Ireland Practice |
| 2001 |
Sun 25 March 01:00 |
Sun 28 October 01:00 |
|
|
| 2000 |
Sun 26 March 01:00 |
Sun 29 October 01:00 |
|
|
| 1999 |
Sun 28 March 01:00 |
Sun 31 October 01:00 |
|
|
| 1998 |
Sun 29 March 01:00 |
Sun 25 October 01:00 |
|
|
| 1997 |
Sun 30 March 01:00 |
Sun 26 October 01:00 |
|
|
| 1996 |
Sun 31 March 01:00 |
Sun 27 October 01:00 |
|
|
| 1995 |
Sun 26 March 01:00 |
Sun 22 October 01:00 |
|
|
| 1994 |
Sun 27 March 01:00 |
Sun 23 October 01:00 |
|
|
| 1993 |
Sun 28 March 01:00 |
Sun 24 October 01:00 |
|
|
| 1992 |
Sun 29 March 01:00 |
Sun 25 October 01:00 |
|
|
| 1991 |
Sun 31 March 01:00 |
Sun 27 October 01:00 |
|
|
| 1990 |
Sun 25 March 01:00 |
Sun 28 October 01:00 |
|
|
| 1989 |
Sun 26 March 01:00 |
Sun 29 October 01:00 |
|
|
| 1988 |
Sun 27 March 01:00 |
Sun 23 October 01:00 |
|
|
| 1987 |
Sun 29 March 01:00 |
Sun 25 October 01:00 |
|
|
| 1986 |
Sun 30 March 01:00 |
Sun 26 October 01:00 |
|
|
| 1985 |
Sun 31 March 01:00 |
Sun 27 October 01:00 |
|
|
| 1984 |
Sun 25 March 01:00 |
Sun 28 October 01:00 |
|
|
| 1983 |
Sun 27 March 01:00 |
Sun 23 October 01:00 |
|
|
| 1982 |
Sun 28 March 01:00 |
Sun 24 October 01:00 |
|
|
| 1981 |
Sun 29 March 01:00 |
Sun 25 October 01:00 |
|
|
| 1980 |
Sun 16 March 02:00 |
Sun 26 October 02:00 |
|
|
| 1979 |
Sun 18 March 02:00 |
Sun 28 October 02:00 |
|
|
| 1978 |
Sun 19 March 02:00 |
Sun 29 October 02:00 |
|
|
| 1977 |
Sun 20 March 02:00 |
Sun 23 October 02:00 |
|
|
| 1976 |
Sun 21 March 02:00 |
Sun 24 October 02:00 |
|
|
| 1975 |
Sun 16 March 02:00 |
Sun 26 October 02:00 |
|
|
| 1974 |
Sun 17 March 02:00 |
Sun 27 October 02:00 |
|
|
| 1973 |
Sun 18 March 02:00 |
Sun 28 October 02:00 |
|
|
| 1972 |
Sun 19 March 02:00 |
Sun 29 October 02:00 |
|
|
| 1971 |
|
Sun 31 October 02:00 |
BST all year ends |
IST all year ends |
| 1970 |
|
|
BST all year |
IST all year |
| 1969 |
|
|
BST all year |
IST all year |
| 1968 |
Sun 18 February 01:00 |
|
BST all year begins |
IST all year begins |
| 1967 |
Sun 19 March 02:00 |
Sun 29 October 02:00 |
|
|
| 1966 |
Sun 20 March 02:00 |
Sun 23 October 02:00 |
|
|
| 1965 |
Sun 21 March 02:00 |
Sun 24 October 02:00 |
|
|
| 1964 |
Sun 22 March 02:00 |
Sun 25 October 02:00 |
|
|
| 1963 |
Sun 31 March 02:00 |
Sun 27 October 02:00 |
|
|
| 1962 |
Sun 25 March 02:00 |
Sun 28 October 02:00 |
|
|
| 1961 |
Sun 26 March 02:00 |
Sun 29 October 02:00 |
|
|
| 1960 |
Sun 10 April 02:00 |
Sun 2 October 02:00 |
|
|
| 1959 |
Sun 12 April 02:00 |
Sun 4 October 02:00 |
|
|
| 1958 |
Sun 20 April 02:00 |
Sun 5 October 02:00 |
|
|
| 1957 |
Sun 14 April 02:00 |
Sun 6 October 02:00 |
|
|
| 1956 |
Sun 22 April 02:00 |
Sun 7 October 02:00 |
|
|
| 1955 |
Sun 17 April 02:00 |
Sun 2 October 02:00 |
|
|
| 1954 |
Sun 11 April 02:00 |
Sun 3 October 02:00 |
|
|
| 1953 |
Sun 19 April 02:00 |
Sun 4 October 02:00 |
|
|
| 1952 |
Sun 20 April 02:00 |
Sun 26 October 02:00 |
|
|
| 1951 |
Sun 15 April 02:00 |
Sun 21 October 02:00 |
|
|
| 1950 |
Sun 16 April 02:00 |
Sun 29 October 02:00 |
|
|
| 1949 |
Sun 3 April 02:00 |
Sun 30 October 02:00 |
|
|
| 1948 |
Sun 14 March 02:00 |
Sun 31 October 02:00 |
|
|
| 1947 |
|
Sun 2 November 02:00 |
Back to GMT |
Back to GMT |
| 1947 |
Sun 13 April 02:00 |
Sun 10 August 02:00 |
BDST (2 hours ahead) |
IST / no DST |
| 1947 |
Sun 16 March 02:00 |
|
BST begins |
IST begins |
| 1946 |
Sun 14 April 02:00 |
Sun 6 October 02:00 |
Back to GMT (Oct) |
Back to GMT (Oct) |
| 1945 |
|
Sun 7 October 02:00 |
Back to GMT |
IST |
| 1945 |
Mon 2 April 01:00 |
Sun 15 July 01:00 |
BDST (2 hours ahead) |
IST / no DST |
| 1944 |
Sun 2 April 01:00 |
Sun 17 September 01:00 |
BDST (2 hours ahead) |
IST / no DST |
| 1943 |
Sun 4 April 01:00 |
Sun 15 August 01:00 |
BDST (2 hours ahead) |
IST / no DST |
| 1942 |
Sun 5 April 01:00 |
Sun 9 August 01:00 |
BDST (2 hours ahead) |
IST / no DST |
| 1941 |
Sun 4 May 01:00 |
Sun 10 August 01:00 |
BDST (2 hours ahead) |
IST / no DST |
| 1940 |
Sun 25 February 02:00 |
|
BST 1940–1945The United Kingdom, along with the British Empire's Crown colonies, including the British West Indies and British India, declared war on Nazi Germany in 1939, after the German invasion of Poland. Hostilities with Japan began in 1941, after it attacked British colonies in Asia...
|
IST 1940–1946 |
| 1939 |
Sun 16 April 02:00 |
Sun 19 November 02:00 |
|
|
| 1938 |
Sun 10 April 02:00 |
Sun 2 October 02:00 |
|
|
| 1937 |
Sun 18 April 02:00 |
Sun 3 October 02:00 |
|
|
| 1936 |
Sun 19 April 02:00 |
Sun 4 October 02:00 |
|
|
| 1935 |
Sun 14 April 02:00 |
Sun 6 October 02:00 |
|
|
| 1934 |
Sun 22 April 02:00 |
Sun 7 October 02:00 |
|
|
| 1933 |
Sun 9 April 02:00 |
Sun 8 October 02:00 |
|
|
| 1932 |
Sun 17 April 02:00 |
Sun 2 October 02:00 |
|
|
| 1930 |
Sun 13 April 02:00 |
Sun 5 October 02:00 |
|
|
| 1929 |
Sun 21 April 02:00 |
Sun 6 October 02:00 |
|
|
| 1928 |
Sun 22 April 02:00 |
Sun 7 October 02:00 |
|
|
| 1927 |
Sun 10 April 02:00 |
Sun 2 October 02:00 |
|
|
| 1926 |
Sun 18 April 02:00 |
Sun 3 October 02:00 |
|
|
| 1925 |
Sun 19 April 02:00 |
Sun 4 October 02:00 |
|
|
| 1924 |
Sun 13 April 02:00 |
Sun 21 September 02:00 |
|
|
| 1923 |
Sun 22 April 02:00 |
Sun 16 September 02:00 |
|
|
| 1922 |
Sun 26 March 02:00 |
Sun 8 October 02:00 |
|
|
| 1921 |
Sun 3 April 02:00 |
Sun 3 October 02:00 |
|
|
| 1920 |
Sun 28 March 02:00 |
Sun 25 October 02:00 |
|
|
| 1919 |
Sun 30 March 02:00 |
Sun 29 September 02:00 |
|
|
| 1918 |
Sun 24 March 02:00 |
Sun 30 September 02:00 |
|
|
| 1917 |
Sun 8 April 02:00 |
Sun 17 September 02:00 |
|
|
| 1916 |
Sun 21 May 02:00 |
Sun 1 October 02:00 |
|
Abolition of DMT |
Note: Until 1 October 1916 time in all of Ireland was based on
Dublin Mean TimeUTC−0:25 was used in Ireland as Dublin Mean Time.Dublin Mean Time was introduced by the , . This Act replaced local mean time throughout the United Kingdom, which had been held to be the legal time since Curtis v...
which was GMT − 25 minutes.
Further reading
- Prerau, David. Saving the Daylight: Why We Put the Clocks Forward (ISBN 1-86207-796-7) — The Story of Summer Time/Daylight Saving Time with a focus on the UK
External links