Time in Spain now

Why the difference never changes

Spain, the UK and Ireland all move their clocks on the same weekends: forward on the last Sunday of March and back on the last Sunday of October. So the gap with mainland Spain is always one hour, summer and winter, and there is never a gap at all with the Canaries. In winter the mainland is on Central European Time (UTC+1) and the Canaries on Western European Time (UTC+0); in summer each moves one hour forward.

Why Spain is on Central European Time

Geographically, most of Spain sits at the same longitude as Britain and would fit naturally into Greenwich time, as the Canaries and Portugal do. In 1940 Spain moved its clocks forward to match Central Europe and never moved them back. That is why the sun rises and sets so late on the Spanish costas: in midsummer it is still light after 9.30 pm in many resorts, and in winter mornings stay dark until well after 8 am.

What it means for watching the webcams

When you look at a mainland webcam from home in the morning, it is an hour later on the beach. Early risers in Britain will often find the Spanish cameras still in the dark, especially in winter; the Canary Islands cameras wake up at the same hour as you.

Spain and other places

The table shows today's difference between mainland Spain and other cities, including the Canary Islands.